DEMISE OF MEDICAL POT CLUB IS MOURNED

Clients and supporters wore black and sang Friday in San Jose to mark the
passing of a medical marijuana club plagued with debt and legal troubles.

"We sang'Amazing Grace,' as is proper in a funeral," said Peter Baez, a
founder and executive director of the Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis
Center.

The center was launched last year after voters in November 1996 passed an
initiative allowing sick people to buy marijuana legally with a doctor's
recommendation.

But Baez faces a preliminary hearing next month on charges of selling
marijuana without a valid doctor's recommendation. He has pleaded not
guilty.

Authorities also seized the center's $29,000 bank account.

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