JUDGE GIVES OAKLAND POT CLUB A 3-DAY BREAK ON CLOSING

Oakland sales continue as lawyers ask longer stay

An Oakland medical marijuana club that had been ordered shut down was
granted a three-day reprieve by a federal judge yesterday, just hours
before U.S. marshals were to padlock its doors.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative could remain open until at least 5 p.m. Monday while its
attorneys seek an additional stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals in San
Francisco.

Club advocates hailed the decision by Breyer, the same judge who had called
for the club's closure on Tuesday after rejecting arguments by the
cooperative that medical marijuana relieves pain and saves lives.

``I think we're getting our due process in court,'' said Jeff Jones,
executive director of the 2,200-member club.

Drew Steckler, a San Francisco attorney who is representing the club,
voiced confidence that the appellate court would grant an appeal.

``We think we have an excellent claim, that irreparable injury will be
suffered by patient members of the cooperative -- who need the medicine to
stay alive or not suffer pain -- if the stay is not granted,'' Steckler said.

Yesterday, customers mobbed the cooperative on Broadway in Oakland's
downtown, thinking it was their last day to buy pot brownies, muffins and
marijuana in small plastic bags. The club will be open today and Monday,
said employee Stacie Traylor.

In 1996, California voters approved Proposition 215, which allows the use
of marijuana for medical purposes, but federal law -- which supersedes
state law -- says marijuana used for any purpose is illegal.

In January, the U.S. Department of Justice filed civil lawsuits against six
Northern California pot clubs. In May, Breyer issued an injunction banning
the six clubs from distributing marijuana pending the federal lawsuit.

Of those clubs, two in San Francisco and one in Santa Cruz have closed.
Besides the Oakland club, two others, one in Fairfax and one in Ukiah,
remain open.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski