POT CLUB PLANS TO DO BUSINESS AS USUAL

Loosely worded injunction open to interpretation

A San Francisco Superior Court judge has issued a preliminary injunction
against the Cannabis Cultivator's Club but the future of the pot
cooperative remains hazy due to different interpretations of the ruling.

The injunction issued Thursday afternoon by Judge David Garcia said club
founder Dennis Peron and co-defendant Beth Moore were prohibited from
selling or giving away marijuana at the club's offices. But the order
allows them to provide marijuana "without receiving anything in return" to
persons with whom they had a relationship as a bona fide primary caregiver.

Peron's attorney, J. David Nick, said the order would have no impact on the
cannabis club because Peron considers himself the primary caregiver for the
club's 8,000 customers.

"He is their primary caregiver," Nick said. "He has that consistent
relationship that the law requires and he can receive compensation for that
service."

The loosely worded injunction came on the heels of a state Supreme Court
decision Wednesday upholding an appellate court ruling that prohibits a
commercial outfit from furnishing marijuana as a "primary caregiver" or
selling it.

Judge Garcia scheduled a motion on a permanent injunction against the club
for April 3.

Proposition 215, passed by voters in 1996, allows patients or their primary
caregivers to possess or cultivate marijuana for medicinal use by the
patient upon a doctor's
recommendation.

Attorney General Dan Lungren said the injunction should effectively close
the club because it could not be considered a primary caregiver based on
the appellate court decision issued in December.

"My office has argued all along that Proposition 215 allows for only three
things: a doctor to recommend marijuana, a patient to use marijuana with a
doctor's recommendation, and a primary caregiver - a friend, a loved one, a
neighbor, a nurse who consistently checks on the patient's needs - to
provide marijuana should the patient be unable to provide for himself or
herself," Lungren said in a statement.

But Peron insisted that the club was operating within the confines of the
law as determined by the appellate court and he vowed to keep its doors
open as he believes he is entitled to by Prop. 215. Peron said he would not
be surprised if Lungren raids the club but warned there would be
considerable resistance if he does.

"They've cried wolf so many times, I don't know," Peron said. "If they come
in, we're going to do what we always do: defend democracy and defend Prop.
215."

District Attorney Terrance Hallinan said he had not yet seen the injunction
but he resisted the notion of prosecuting Peron or club members if they
remain in business.

"As long as they operate by the Health Department protocols, we consider
them within the definition of Proposition 215."

Lungren said the appellate court decision applies to all cannabis clubs
throughout the state and that district attorneys in those jurisdictions
were reminded of the court's ruling.

But Oakland Cannabis Club Executive Director Jeff Jones said his club and
others around the state felt that the ruling applied only to Peron's club
and not their own.

"Lungren is kind of getting ahead of himself on this one," Jones said. "He
might use this (decision) as a stepping stone to raid the smaller
facilities like us. If he does, we're here and have been here for a year."

Copyright 1998 San Francisco Examiner