MEDICINAL POT CENTER TO CLOSE

Heavily in debt, the Santa Clara County Medical Cannabis Center will go out
of business for good next week, a co-founder of the facility said Wednesday.

Peter Baez, who along with Jesse Garcia started the center last year with
the blessings of city and county officials, said it will close May 8.

The center is being forced to close, he said, because its assets have been
frozen by the district attorney's office in connection with a criminal case.
Baez is facing felony charges of illegally selling marijuana.

Baez, a cancer patient, said that because of the freeze, the center no
longer can buy marijuana for its clients and has barely been able to pay its
rent. And, he said, ``we are $16,000 in the hole to marijuana growers.''