MARIJUANA CLUBS IN STANDOFF WITH FEDERAL OFFICIALS IN S.F.

Authorities plan to meet with Justice before taking action

With operators of local marijuana clubs vowing to keep their doors open in
defiance of a judge's order, federal authorities in San Francisco said they
will hold discussions Thursday with the U.S. Justice Department in
Washington, D.C., before taking any action.

"We definitely hope that they will close down, (but if they don't) we are
going to reconvene and decide what course of action to take. ... There are
lots of options," said Stephen Shefler, chief assistant U.S. attorney for
Northern California.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued preliminary
injunctions ordering six Bay Area cannabis clubs shut down, saying that
federal law supersedes a statewide initiative approved by voters that
legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Local pot clubs said the ruling would not deter them and seemed relieved
that it would set them up for a federal trial that would allow them to
challenge the federal marijuana laws.

"We are going to remain open. We feel what we're doing here is a medical
necessity," said Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland Cannabis
Buyers' Cooperative. "If we were to stop doing it, the patients would
suffer. Some could potentially die without having access to cannabis.

"We're going to be in contempt of court, and the next thing will be a jury
trial. We feel a jury of our peers, or at least one of them, will find that
what we're doing is a necessity."

In San Francisco, the Cannabis Healing Center, formally known as the
Cannabis Cultivators Club, said Wednesday that in the wake of the judge's
rules they were once again redefining themselves, but acknowledged that the
new definition was one of semantics.

"We're going to carry on here. We're saying we're not selling and
distributing it. People are coming in and getting the medicine that belongs
to them. ... We're joint users collectively sharing our medicine," said
Lynne Barnes, spokeswoman for the club. "It's terminology here. We're
saying this all belongs to the patients. They come in here and they can get
their medicine. It's like they are joint owners of this medicine."

)1998 San Francisco Examiner

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