SUMMIT ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA FINDS EFFORTS DISJOINTED

Police, prosecutors and lawmakers from all over California conferred with
advocates of medical marijuana at the state capitol yesterday to thrash out
strategies, and rapidly came to a glum conclusion -- without the
cooperation of the federal government, therapeutic pot is stone cold dead
in California.

And that was the catch -- the federal officials who could make the
difference snubbed the conference.

The summit was called by state Senator John Vasconcellos, D-Santa Clara,
after a recent order by federal appellate court Judge Charles Breyer that
prohibited San Francisco Cannabis Cultivator's Club owner Dennis Peron from
selling medical marijuana at his Market Street outlet.

Breyer issued the order in response to a suit brought by the federal
government. Meanwhile, San Francisco sheriff's deputies closed the latest
incarnation of the club -- called the Cannabis Healing Center -- Monday.

Peron's Cannabis Cultivator's Club had been closed by a court order last
month, but the dispensary reopened almost immediately as the healing center
under the management of Hazel Rodgers, a friend of Peron's.

Breyer concluded that the methods Peron used to distribute marijuana
violated federal law.

The ruling sent a chill through the numerous medical marijuana clubs that
had been operating in the state under Proposition 215, the medical
marijuana initiative passed in 1996.

Vasconcellos opened the summit by declaring that the federal government was
``the crux'' of the medical marijuana issue in California and said he had
sent a letter to President Clinton urging him to stop federal action
against marijuana dispensaries.

Although marijuana may now be cultivated, possessed and used by ill
Californians under Proposition 215, under federal law it remains a
``Schedule One'' drug -- a designation reserved for heroin and LSD.
Schedule One drugs are illegal in all circumstances, unlike Schedule Two
drugs, such as morphine and amphetamines, which can be prescribed by a
physician.

Bill Zimmerman, the director of Americans for Medical Rights, said the
summit was long overdue. ``This problem is not going to go away.'' he said.
``None of us want to continue spinning our wheels (on a situation) that
leads to court cases, arrests and (club) closures.

We need to solve the problem for the benefit of patients here and across
the country.'' Many of the participants concluded that a necessary first
step would be to persuade the federal government to reclassify marijuana
from Schedule One to Schedule Two.

Alice Mead, the general counsel for the California Medical Association,
said the organization has recently decided to support the rescheduling of
marijuana from Schedule One to Schedule Two. A Schedule Two designation
would allow physicians to directly prescribe marijuana to patients,
obviating the private dispensaries. Participants also acknowledged that the
federal government is unlikely to undertake such a move in the near future.

Some advised resistance by state and county governments to federal actions.
Dan Abrahamson, the director for the pro-medical marijuana Lindesmith
Center, said the U.S. drug code grants state and local officials immunity
from prosecution when enforcing state and local drug laws. `

`They can't make local authorities enforce federal law,'' he said. ``When
it comes to local distribution, local communities must be able to address
local conditions.''

Most of the participants seemed friendly toward medical marijuana -- but
not all.

``If (the problems associated with marijuana clubs) are characteristic of
this movement, I want no part of it,'' said state Senator Quentin Kopp,
independent-San Francisco. ``I prefer clinics, hospitals or drugstores as a
means of distribution.''

Some local police agencies opposed the clubs. Testifying by speakerphone,
Arcata police Lieutenant Randy Mendoza said his city has avoided problems
with the implementation of Proposition 215 because the Police Department
issues medical marijuana cards to patients, not privately owned clubs.

``We check up on the physician's recommendations, and we issue the cards,''
he said. ``If someone produces the card during a (drug) stop it is a very
brief encounter.

Otherwise, we enforce all drug violations.'' At the end of the summit,
Vasconcellos announced that the Senate Appropriations Committee had just
passed a bill that would create a panel of experts to consider all
distribution alternatives raised in the meeting. The panel would ultimately
present their findings to the federal government, Vasconcellos said.

San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano said last night that the city's public
health department should begin emergency distribution of medical marijuana
following the closure of the pot club. Ammiano's proposal may be reviewed
later this week, when city officials meet to further discuss the medical
marijuana dispute.

1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A16

Checked-by: jwjohnson@netmagic.net (Joel W. Johnson)