OAKLAND COUNCIL DECLARES MARIJUANA HEALTH CRISIS

The day after the state's largest remaining medical marijuana club was shut
down, the Oakland City Council threw its support behind the dispensary, but
exactly what the city can do to help remains unclear.

Last night, by a 5-to-4 vote, the council declared that Monday's closure of
the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative by the federal government creates a
public health emergency for the city by forcing hundreds of ill and dying
people to go without the pain-easing drug or be forced to buy from street
dealers.

The council's action places Oakland at the forefront of the medical
marijuana issue. It is the first city to use the emergency declaration,
which is usually reserved for cases of disaster or extreme peril.

Typically, emergency declarations enable a city to seek state and federal
aid but, in this case, the council is not looking for such assistance; it is
only seeking to draw attention to the issue.

``What we do tonight will send a powerful message, both here and throughout
the state and the world,'' said Councilman Nate Miley, who led the call for
the declaration.

But council members in opposition said that although they support medicinal
marijuana use, they did not believe the club's closure merited an emergency
status.

And they worried whether the action would open the city up to federal
prosecution.

``To help a few I cannot expose the rest of the city to the impact of what
we do tonight,'' Ignacio De La Fuente said.

The council's action was mostly symbolic -- it has no effect on a federal
judge's order that resulted in the club's doors being padlocked yesterday
morning.

But Robert Raich, an attorney for the cooperative that claimed 2,200
members, said the council's action ``underscores the seriousness of the
situation'' and helps lays the groundwork for any future city moves to
revive the club -- or some form of it.

The council could have the city itself set up a dispensary program--an idea
that has been floated in the past by Councilman Nate Miley and one that was
brought up again during last night's council meeting.

That idea was not up for discussion last night, but Miley promised to have
it reviewed by the Public Safety Committee, which he chairs. Some of his
colleagues have already voiced loud opposition to his idea which they say
could open the city up to civil and criminal liability.

Checked-by: Don Beck