OAKLAND NAMES `OFFICIAL' MARIJUANA SUPPLIER

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - The City of Oakland Thursday named the first
``official'' marijuana supply agency in the country, breaking new ground in
the bitter legal battle over California's 1996 medical marijuana law.

At a ceremony at Oakland City Hall, officials proclaimed staff of the
Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative to be ''officers of the city,'' a move
intended to shield them from federal prosecution.

``This is a great day for our patients and a great day for Oakland,'' said
Jeff Jones, executive director of the cooperative.

Oakland officials said the new designation should thwart federal efforts to
close the club. Although California voters in 1996 passed a state law
legalizing medical marijuana use, federal prosecutors have sued to close
the clubs, saying their operations violate federal narcotics laws.

While a number of northern California medical marijuana clubs have folded
under the legal pressure, Oakland's cannabis cooperative has continued to
operate, distributing the drug to some 1,800 people to treat symptoms of
AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses.

``The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative runs a clean, legitimate
business, contributes to Oakland's downtown revitalization, and prevents
seriously ill people from turning to the streets to buy their medicine,''
said Vice Mayor Nate Miley, who chairs the city council's Public Safety
Committee.

``We're delighted to offer the cooperative all the support we can, and hope
that other cities will follow suit.''

While the new ``city officer'' designation does not mean the club members
are now city employees, it does extend potentially powerful legal
protection to them.

Under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, ``city officers'' -- usually
taken to mean undercover law enforcement agents -- cannot be prosecuted for
selling controlled drugs within the scope of their official duties.

Now, city officials hope, that designation will allow the cannabis club to
distribute marijuana to critically ill patients from its tidy,
pharmacy-like downtown offices.

``This designation will permit the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative to
distribute medical cannabis within federal law,'' said Professor Gerald
Uelmen of the University of Santa Clara School of Law, who has served as a
legal adviser to the club.

``That means the federal government has no case. The lawsuit against the
cooperative should be dropped today.''

Federal officials had no immediate comment on Oakland's move, the first by
any city in the country to name what amounts to an official marijuana
supply agency.

``We're aware of the decision, and we are in the process of reviewing it.
Any comment that we might have would be made in court,'' said Gregory King,
a spokesman for the Justice Department.

Oakland officials, said, however, they were aware that the city's effort to
protect the cannabis club might not stop the federal suit, which lawyers
will officially ask to be dismissed on Friday.

``What we are trying to do is basically, as a city, set up a system to
distribute medical marijuana to those in need,'' said Joe de Vries, an aide
to Miley.

``If that's not good enough, we'll go the next step. And maybe then
everybody at the club will receive a City of Oakland paycheck.''

Oakland, which lies across the bay from San Francisco, was already at the
forefront of efforts to liberalize regulations governing medical marijuana
use.

Last month, the city council unanimously passed a measure allowing patients
with a valid doctor's prescription to keep 1-1/2 pounds of the drug for
``personal use.''

Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

Checked-by: Richard Lake