LUNGREN DENIES PRESSURING LANDLORD TO EVICT POT CLUB

Cops Allegedly Sent to Coerce Eviction; Club Remains Open

Having failed to obtain a court order permanently shutting down the medical
marijuana facility now known as the Cannabis Healing Center, California
Attorney General Dan Lungren reportedly has tried a new hard-ball tactic:
pressuring the elderly landlord of the pot club's building to evict his
tenants.

According to club founder Dennis Peron, who has stepped down from running
the operation to devote himself full time to running for governor, Lungren
recently sent 10 state narcotics police and lawyers from his office to the
home of 94-year-old Victor Zachariah, who owns the building at 1444 Market
Street where the healing center has been located since 1995, "and coerced
him to sign a statement saying he didn't want me in the building. They
threatened him, saying they'd take the building."

In the note, according to Peron, Zachariah wrote that "I didn't know he
[Peron] was selling illegal drugs there [at the Cannabis Healing Center] and
I ordered him to vacate the property."

When contacted by telephone on Monday, Zachariah (whose number was obtained
from the phone book after center volunteers declined to give it out)
confirmed he had written a note saying he no longer wanted the Cannabis
Healing Center as a tenant. When asked whether anyone had asked him to
write the note, Zachariah declined to say, replying curtly that "that's my
business."

A spokesman for the Attorney General, who claimed to be very familiar with
the state's proceedings against the pot club, denied his boss had sent any
agents to Zachariah's home.

"If we have to move, we'll move," said Peron. He added, however, that "when
you sign a thing under duress, when it comes out in court, the judge is not
going to like it. A jury wouldn't like knowing the cops threatened him
[Zachariah] with forfeiture."

Peron said that on a personal level, he and "Mr. Zach" (as he calls his
landlord) get along very well. "He really likes me," Peron said.

No restraint

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, April 29, Superior Court Judge William Cahill
denied a renewed request by Lungren for a new temporary restraining order
against Hazel Rodgers and the Cannabis Healing Center she now runs (having
assumed leadership after Peron stepped down on April 20).

Cahill ruled that newspaper articles submitted as evidence of the illegal
activities within the building constitute only "inadmissible hearsay."

"There is insufficient evidence as to what is occurring inside the Center
for this court to issue an order closing the Center without a full
preliminary injunction hearing," Cahill wrote in his decision.

The judge ordered such a hearing to take place on June 4, at which time
Rodgers, who is 79, will be expected "to show cause, if any, why you, your
agents, employees and others should not be restrained and prohibited from
conducting, maintaining, occupying or in any way permitting the use of the
premises at 1444 Market Street, San Francisco, for the purpose of selling,
storing, serving, distributing, keeping, or giving away controlled
substances."

Meanwhile, at Cahill's order, volunteers from the Healing Center are now
patrolling the premises outside of the building, ensuring the sidewalks are
kept free from litter, loiterers, and pot smokers. Neighbors in the vicinity
had complained to Lungren about the activities outside the center.

"If this nuisance is not immediately controlled," wrote Cahill, "upon a
proper showing, the plaintiff [Lungren] may return to this court to renew
its request for an immediate Temporary Restraining Order."

"We're happy to do that," said Geo, one of the center's volunteers. She
explained that the area is now patrolled by people with walkie-talkies who
ensure the club stays in compliance with the order. She then noted the
center's new summer hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday;
Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Checked-by: "R. Lake"