OAKLAND MARIJUANA CLUB CLOSED BY FEDS

(10-19) 20:39 EDT OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- California's largest remaining
medical marijuana club was closed Monday by a court order obtained by the
Clinton administration's Justice Department.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, without comment, denied a request by
the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative to remain open during an appeal of
a federal judge's ruling finding the club in contempt of court for
continuing to distribute marijuana in violation of federal law.

Shortly before the 5 p.m. deadline, leaders of the organization started
carrying out boxes of files and said they were closing voluntarily and
cooperating with federal marshals.

Jeff Jones, executive director of the club, issued a statement saying
Californians who backed Proposition 215, the November 1996 medical
marijuana initiative, ``have had their votes nullified today by the efforts
of a heavy-handed and misguided federal government.''

``We fear for our patients,'' Jones said. He said he would work with city
officials to try to find a way to distribute the drug to patients who need
it, and would form a political action committee to lobby the federal
government to lift restrictions on medical marijuana.

The club, which claimed 2,200 patients as members, was one of six in
Northern California sued by the Justice Department for violating the
federal law against distribution of marijuana. Of the six, only clubs in
Ukiah and Fairfax remain open, along with a handful of others around the
state.

Proposition 215 allowed patients and their caregivers to possess and grow
marijuana without prosecution under California law, if recommended by a
doctor to relieve the pain from AIDS or cancer treatment, glaucoma or other
conditions.

The initiative had no effect, however, on federal laws against distribution
of marijuana. The federal government puts marijuana in the same category as
the most dangerous drugs and says it has no medical use.

Breyer issued an injunction in May to prohibit the clubs from distributing
marijuana. Oakland city officials responded by designating marijuana club
officials as city agents, and invoking a federal law that protects state
and local officers from liability while enforcing drug laws. But Breyer
said the club was violating the drug law, not enforcing it.

He did not order an immediate shutdown until last week, after federal
agents presented evidence of continued marijuana distribution at the
Oakland club.

In challenging the shutdown, lawyers for the club argued that patients had
a constitutional right to be free of excruciating pain with their
medication of choice. They also invoked the ``necessity'' defense, which
allows a person to violate a law when it is the only way to prevent a
greater harm.

But Breyer said the club had failed to present evidence that each of its
patients needed marijuana, and had no alternative to prevent serious or
life-threatening harm.

The club's request for a stay was rejected by appeals court Judges Thomas
Nelson and Michael Hawkins. The case remains under appeal, but the club is
prohibited from operating in the meantime.

Checked-by: Richard Lake