S.F. MAY USE HEALTH DEPT. IN POT WARS

Supervisor Says Cities Can Dispense Medical Marijuana

In the aftermath of the closure of San Francisco's biggest medical
marijuana club, local officials are promoting the city's Department of
Public Health as the most likely new distributor for medicinal pot.

``The will is there to put this in Public Health's court,'' Supervisor Tom
Ammiano said yesterday. ``We have to make it happen as soon as possible.''

District Attorney Terence Hallinan has endorsed the idea, which would make
San Francisco the first city in the state to distribute pot and could put
it on a legal collision course with the federal government.

City officials are scheduled to meet this afternoon in Mayor Willie Brown's
office to work out a policy on how to get marijuana to people who need it
for medicinal reasons.

Ammiano said the Board of Supervisors may be able to draft legislation in a
few days that would enable the health department to distribute marijuana to
residents of the city who can produce referrals from doctors.

Ammiano said city governments are authorized to distribute medicinal
marijuana under Proposition 215, the 1996 state initiative that legalized
medical pot. But he acknowledged that the law is ambiguous about ways city
officials could legally obtain the weed.

``It could be difficult to procure, but the (medical marijuana) clubs
haven't had that problem,'' Ammiano said. ``Since Proposition 215 allows
medical marijuana to be distributed, it implies that there has to be a
means of legally obtaining it.''

Although medical marijuana is legal in the state, it is still against
federal law to possess, use or distribute it.

That fact has been brought home to the state's medical cannabis clubs in
recent weeks as federal prosecutors have filed suits to close them down.

On Monday, San Francisco sheriff's deputies padlocked the San Francisco
Cannabis Healing Center after rulings by judges in U.S. Court of Appeals
and San Francisco Superior Court. With more than 5,000 members, the center
was the biggest medical marijuana outlet in the country.

At a medical marijuana distribution ``summit'' Tuesday at the state
Capitol, Hallinan said the city should undertake the cultivation and
distribution of medical marijuana.

State Senator Quentin Kopp, independent-San Francisco, said he is not
convinced that cities can legally oversee medical marijuana programs.
Nonetheless, the idea has developed momentum in San Francisco.

John Shanley, spokesman for the district attorney's office, said Hallinan
acknowledges that ``a conflict exists between state and federal law here.''

But Shanley compared medical marijuana to hypodermic needle exchange
programs. ``Needle exchange programs operated in this city even though
certain officials insisted they were illegal,'' Shanley said. ``There was a
legitimate need for them, and there's a legitimate need for medical
marijuana.''

Mitchell Katz, director of the Public Health Department, said his agency is
studying medical marijuana options in concert with other city departments.

``We believe that medical marijuana eases suffering and that providing it
is a compassionate service,'' he said.

Ammiano said he believes Brown is behind the idea. But the mayor, whose
endorsement is an absolute prerequisite for a city-sponsored marijuana
distribution program, seemed somewhat coy about the issue.

Brown said that he supports the efforts of the state's pot club owners but
that he is limited in his ability to help them negotiate their legal
difficulties. He said that city employees risk arrest and incarceration if
they violate the law in their attempts to distribute medical marijuana.

``I'm too small a guy to spend any time in jail,'' he said, laughing.
``They can see me any way they wish. I am not going to jail for anyone.''