POT CLUB ORDERED CLOSED BY S.F. SUPERIOR COURT

A San Francisco Superior Court judge yesterday declared the nation's
largest medical marijuana club a ``public nuisance'' and ordered it shut down.

The Cannabis Healing Center was infiltrated by undercover agents this month
and must close by Tuesday, stated Judge William Cahill.

Even with voter approval of Proposition 215, Cahill found that the center's
sale, possession and cultivation of cannabis violates state law.

``There is no legal defense to selling marijuana,'' Cahill ruled.

His order came a day after a federal order was announced, barring six
Northern California pot clubs from selling medical marijuana. Yesterday,
business continued as usual at many of the clubs, including the Cannabis
Healing Center.

The center remained open into the evening, and staff vowed to continue
serving an estimated 8,000 patients while their lawyer appeals the Superior
Court decision. Cahill's ruling marked the third time in two years that a
medical pot club founded by Dennis Peron was ordered closed.

``This is just a small battle in the war,'' said registered nurse and
Cannabis Healing Center volunteer Lynne Barnes. ``We think patience and
compassion will win in the end.''

The state attorney general's office, however, was ``very pleased,'' said
spokesman Matt Ross. He said the ruling ``will shut down that whole
operation.''

``We argued that the law allows for a patient to have a primary caregiver
to care for their needs on a consistent basis,'' he said. ``That was not
what was happening here. . . .''

Judge Cahill noted that three times in May, undercover agents bought
marijuana at the center after submitting phony prescriptions with no
verification.

On May 1, an agent went to the center with a phony doctor's recommendation
for pot, completed the form, and was taken to the third floor where four
lines of six people each stood before a counter with a marijuana ``menu
board on it,'' Cahill stated.

That agent allegedly bought one-quarter ounce of marijuana for $20.

Agents visited the Market Street club again on May 3 and 5, each time
buying pot, Cahill said.

``The evidence shows that marijuana can be purchased in practically any
quantity by anyone willing to fill out the Cannabis Healing Center's forms
and to designate (director) Hazel Rodgers as their `exclusive' caregiver
for the purposes of obtaining medical marijuana,'' Cahill found.

Meanwhile, the federal order barring California pot clubs from selling
medical marijuana in violation of federal law seemed to have little effect.

In Oakland, a club openly defied the federal court order -- even kicking
out an undercover agent wearing a shirt with the word ``cannabis'' on it.

Staff at the 2-year-old cooperative on Broadway hawked pot brownies, Rice
Krispies and muffins. They made sure everyone had valid identification and
doctor's permission.

``The marijuana has been such a godsend for me,'' said Yvonne Westbrook,
45, of Richmond, a multiple-sclerosis patient and wheelchair user who
received one-eighth of an ounce of ``mid-grade'' marijuana in a baggie.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has ordered six Northern California pot
clubs from growing or distributing marijuana -- two in San Francisco and
one each in Oakland, southern Marin County, Santa Cruz and Ukiah.

The state has more than 30 medical marijuana clubs.

``What kills me is that the people have already spoken -- since when does
the law mean nothing?'' said Westbrook, who uses the marijuana to reduce
leg spasms.

As a news conference was about to start at the center, a security guard
stopped a plainclothes Drug Enforcement Administration agent who tried to
get in with a phony doctor's note and driver's license.

The long-haired agent did not respond to questions and hid his face with
his hand.

Attorney Gerald Uelmen, a Santa Clara University law professor who is
defending the Oakland club, said the ruling exempts the distribution of
marijuana for medical purposes.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department intends to carry out the
order against the Cannabis Healing Center by no later than 5 p.m. on
Tuesday, said Eileen Hirst, the sheriff's chief of staff.

``This is not your average everyday eviction,'' Hirst said. ``We need to do
some planning, and we'll do it within the time the judge ordered.''

The order calls for the sheriff to change all the locks, to arrange to
remove property that does not belong to the owner of the building and to
remove all unauthorized people, including 79-year-old Rodgers, the center's
director, and founder Dennis Peron.

©1998 San Francisco Chronicle

Checked-by: Richard Lake