OAKLAND DESIGNATES POT CLUB STAFF AS CITY AGENTS

OAKLAND -- City officials leaped to the forefront of the medical marijuana
movement Thursday, designating the staff of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers'
Cooperative as city agents.

The move, designed to shield them from criminal prosecution, is believed to
make Oakland the first city in the nation to have an official program that
distributes medical marijuana.

"We're out on the frontier," City Councilman Nate Miley said at a City Hall
news conference where he handed over a letter giving the staff authority to
act as representatives of the city.

Miley said the council was compelled to act for humanitarian reasons.

"Today, Oakland has shown the way. I think this is an example that will be
widely emulated in California," said Gerald Uelman, an attorney working with
the club who also served as a member of the O.J. Simpson defense "dream
team."

Thursday's ceremony stems from an ordinance passed earlier this summer by
the city council. The council has also approved a policy allowing medical
marijuana users to have 1BD pounds of cannabis, which they view as a
three-month supply of about 10 cigarettes a day. State guidelines figure 1
ounce equals a 30-day supply.

Robert Raich, an attorney for the club, said designating staff as city
agents will protect them under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which
gives immunity from federal and criminal liability to agents enforcing an
ordinance relating to controlled substances.

A call to the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco was referred to a
spokesman in Washington, D.C., who did not immediately return a telephone
call to The Associated Press.

Federal prosecutors are moving to shut down the Oakland club, along with
several others which sprang up after voters approved Proposition 215 in
1996.

The initiative allowed patients with cancer, AIDS and other conditions that
might be helped by marijuana to obtain the drug under California law with a
doctor's recommendation. But a federal judge later ruled it did not and
could not override the federal law against distributing marijuana.

Raich said he will file a motion Friday seeking to have federal charges
against the club dismissed. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31.

Oakland has espoused a tough anti-drug program that includes seizing
vehicles allegedly used in the buying or selling of drugs.

Miley said there's no contradiction, because the medical marijuana program
is being administered strictly for legitimate health reasons.

"We will be very vigorous when it comes to law enforcement, but we will be
very strong when it comes to compassion," he said.

The Oakland ordinance exempts the city from liability arising as a result of
activities conducted by the club, which is required to carry its own
insurance and obey all city laws.

Which means that, like every workplace in Oakland, the cannabis club is a
smoke-free environment.

Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"