FEDS HIT COURT TO SHUT DOWN POT CLUBS

Prosecutor argues Proposition 215 is illegal because U.S. narcotics laws
override it

Federal prosecutors pressed on with efforts to shut down several Bay Area
cannabis clubs, arguing that federal drug laws supersede the state
initiative legalizing the medicinal use of marijuana.

"In this case, there are unambiguous violations of federal law," said
prosecutor Mark Quinlivan, as he urged U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer
to issue an injunction against the clubs. Federal narcotics laws make it
unlawful to cultivate, distribute or possess marijuana.

Quinlivan argued that federal laws override California's Proposition 215,
the initiative passed by voters in 1996 legalizing the cultivation and
medical use of marijuana by patients with AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and a
variety of other illnesses.

However, attorneys for the cannabis clubs asked the judge to dismiss the
government's suit, saying their clients' activities are legal, justified
and exempt from the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Tony Serra, lawyer for defendants Dennis Peron and his San Francisco-based
Cannabis Cultivators Club, urged the judge to balance the moral and ethical
issues of the case.

"For those who are dying, marijuana is not a choice," Serra said. "It's a
matter of necessity. It's a matter of hope versus despair."

District Attorney Terence Hallinan also weighed in, saying that if the
judge ordered the closure of pot clubs, "It would create a law enforcement
and public health crisis in San Francisco."

Breyer, who listened to both sides for nearly four hours, asked lawyers to
file additional legal briefs outlining their position by April 16 and said
he would rule on the injunction after that date.

Federal officials had filed civil suits in January seeking to halt the
operations of six clubs. Those targeted were: Dennis Peron's Cannabis
Cultivators Club and Flower Therapy Medical Marijuana Club in San
Francisco; Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative in Oakland; Cannabis Buyers Club in
Santa Cruz; Cannabis Buyers Club in Ukiah, and Marin Alliance for Medical
Marijuana in Fairfax. Two of the clubs, Flower Therapy and the Cannabis
Buyers Cooperative in Santa Cruz, have since closed.

The other 11 clubs in the state, including major clubs in Los Angeles and
San Jose, were not named in the civil suit.

Mayor Brown and mayors from Oakland, Santa Cruz and West Hollywood opposed
the suit and wrote a letter to President Clinton last week saying that
seriously ill people would suffer and that many would turn to street
dealers to buy the drug.

San Francisco city officials including Hallinan and Supervisors Tom Ammiano
and Gavin Newsom spoke to more than 200 activists at a noon rally Tuesday
denouncing the federal suit and pledging support for medicinal marijuana.

The City's leadership is committed to preserving the right to medicinal
marijuana for the seriously ill, Newsom said.

"With that kind of will and collective support, I'm confident we'll be able
to provide some solutions," he said.

Hallinan suggested The City's health department become involved in the
event federal officials prevail in their efforts to close the clubs.

However, at a press conference, U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi said
federal law would also bar The City from dispensing marijuana.

"It has been suggested that local government might step in and distribute
marijuana if the clubs closed down," Yamaguchi said. "Without prior
approval from both the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug
Enforcement Administration, such distribution would be illegal."

In legal briefs, government lawyers contend the cannabis clubs distributed,
manufactured and possessed marijuana in clear violation of federal law.

Justice Department officials also cited an undercover investigation by the
DEA, which allegedly revealed that the cannabis clubs were lax in verifying
patient identification and distributed marijuana to people who did not
claim to be in severe pain or suffering from serious illness. They cited
six separate instances during which marijuana was sold to undercover
agents.

The clubs cited a number of defenses. They argued that the federal
officials had no jurisdiction over marijuana cultivated and distributed
within the state and that their clients violated federal law in order to
prevent greater harm.

"Defendants' activities, which are condoned by state law, have no relation
to the illicit interstate trafficking Congress sought to proscribe,"
cannabis club lawyers wrote in their legal brief. They also contend that
closing down the cannabis clubs would increase black market pot sales.

)1998 San Francisco Examiner