POLITICAL SHIFT MAY USHER IN NEW POT CLUB

Heartened by the change of administrations in Sacramento, advocates of
medical marijuana are gearing up to open a new medicinal pot club in San
Francisco--even though they may be headed straight for a federal shutdown.

State and local authorities have indicated tacit support for a new club, a
marked change in policy from Sacramento. This week, however, federal
officials said they could not allow a new club to remain open.

Supporters of medical marijuana say the city generally has been bereft of
legal pot since the San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Club was closed in
April.

The San Francisco Sheriff's Department shut the club on a Superior Court
order after a long campaign against the outlet by former Attorney General
Dan Lungren.

But now that Democrat Bill Lockyer is attorney general, say the advocates,
the time is ripe for therapeutic pot clubs to once again open their doors in
San Francisco.

``A couple of small outlets are currently operating, but the level of
service they can provide is really minimal,'' said Jane Weirick, the
executive director of the San Francisco Patients Resource Center, an ad hoc
organization that plans to open the new club.

Weirick envisions an outlet comparable in size to the old Cannabis
Cultivators Club, which served about 9,000 patients under the direction of
its controversial leader, Dennis Peron.

Weirick said her group is searching for a building to house the new club,
which she hopes to have running in six weeks or less.

The group has enough money to start, said Weirick, ``but we could always use
more.''

One thing that will not inhibit the opening is the availability -- or
rather, unavailability -- of the high-quality pot needed for medical use,
said Weirick.

``There's a lot of it around,'' she said. ``That's the least of our
problems.''

Weirick said the new club will operate along stricter guidelines than the
old CCC. Peron was pilloried and ultimately prosecuted for what law
enforcement officials said was a lax operation.

``We plan to run a very tight ship, using the model for the Oakland Cannabis
Club, which set up a very workable system,'' she said.

``In fact, the Oakland club will handle all our eligibility paperwork and
issue our membership cards,'' she said. ``They're already geared up to do
it, and there's no point in reinventing the wheel. Eventually, we'd like to
see a statewide cooperative of clubs that would all honor the same cards.''

Jeff Jones, the executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Club -- which saw
its dispensary shut down October 20 by federal marshals -- said his
eligibility requirements are simple but tough.

``First, we get a letter of recommendation from a physician,'' he said.
``Then we have a staff nurse call the physician to make sure the
recommendation is not fraudulent. Then we call the state medical board to
make sure the physician can legally prescribe drugs and that there are no
complaints against his or her license.''

As far as the planned San Francisco club goes, said Weirick, only
cardholders authorized to buy marijuana will be allowed into the areas where
the pot is dispensed.

``That way there will be no doubt about the legality of the operation under
Proposition 215 (the medical marijuana initiative that passed in 1996).''

Proposition 215 decriminalizes the use and possession of medical marijuana
at the state level, but pot remains illegal under federal law.

``It is still a controlled substance under the U.S. Controlled Substances
Act,'' said Evelyn James, the public information officer for the San
Francisco office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. ``That hasn't
changed.''

``Our position (in San Francisco) is that because it is a controlled
substance, it would be appropriate to move against a new club,'' she said.

With such a shutdown in mind, Weirick said, the new club will have a
separate clinic and administrative center.

``That way, we'll be able to conduct patient support even if the clinic
(where the marijuana is dispensed) is forced to close,'' she said.

Weirick's group seems to be getting a green light from city officials.

San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan said a major medical
marijuana outlet is a good idea for San Francisco -- as long as it is
tightly regulated.

``I've always said that it is more of a health issue than a legal issue,''
he said. ``Locally, this should strictly be a matter for the city Department
of Health.''

Weirick said Peron will have no direct involvement in the new club ``except
as a spiritual adviser. Without him, we never would have come this far.''

Flamboyant and aggressively partisan, Peron opened his first cannabis club
in 1992. He soon became a prime target for state prosecutors. State agents
raided his Market Street outlet in August 1996. Three months later, voters
approved Proposition 215, the medical marijuana legalization initiative that
Peron had drafted.

Despite 215's passage, Lungren continued his campaign against Peron. State
charges for the illegal possession and distribution of marijuana remain
outstanding against Peron and several associates, though it is unclear
whether Lockyer--who voted for Proposition 215--will continue to pursue the
matter.

``There are no plans at this time (to drop) that case,'' said Hilary McLean,
a spokeswoman for Lockyer.

McLean said that Lockyer generally supports the idea of medical marijuana
but that he has some problems with Proposition 215.

``Bill voted for the initiative, and he has always supported access to
appropriate medicine for people who need it,'' she said, noting that
Lockyer's mother and sister both died of leukemia.

``But he has also said he sees some real problems with 215,'' McLean said.
``It runs counter to federal law, and it is in conflict with some aspects of
state law. Bill wants to work out some kind of accommodation with the
federal government and state legislators so that the people who truly need
this medicine can get it.''

Hallinan also thinks the federal government could inhibit the resuscitation
of San Francisco's cannabis clubs.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against six state cannabis clubs
last year, and federal agencies apparently remain uniformly opposed to
medical marijuana.

Still, Hallinan is moderately optimistic.

``With a new state administration, we can hopefully reach an accommodation
with the feds,'' said Hallinan. ``The main reason they came down so hard on
the clubs in the past was because Lungren was urging them to do it.''

DEA agent James said that she didn't know if the advent of a new
administration in Sacramento could presage a change in the opinions of U.S.
Department of Justice and DEA administrators regarding medical marijuana.

James said that federal agents are unimpressed with Proposition 215 and the
thesis that marijuana has genuine therapeutic applications.

``Here you have a situation where the opinion of registered voters takes
precedence over the medical establishment,'' she said. ``My heart goes out
to people who are sick, but I worry that these folks are being sold a bill
of goods -- that they're missing out on legitimate therapies because they've
been taken in by the medical marijuana hype.''