EDITORS NOTE; THE RESULTS OF THE COUNTY LINE POLL FOR 1-16-98 WITH 982
RESPONSES. THE QUESTION? DO YOU AGREE WITH THE DECISION TO CHARGE MARVIN
CHAVEZ WITH SELLING MARIJUANA?

YES-1% NO-99%

THE ORGANIZATION'S FOUNDER, CHARGED WITH SELLING MARIJUANA, IS RELEASED ON
HIS OWN RECOGNIZANCE.

The future of a fragile network that distributes medical marijuana in
Orange County has been thrown into disarray after the arrest of it's
founder this week on pot-related charges.

Marvin Chavez,founder of the Orange County Cannabis Co-op, was released on
his own recognizance Friday after his arrest two days earlier at his Santa
Ana home. He faces eight felony counts of conspiracy and marijuana sales.

Chevez, widely seen as the driving force behind the organization, vowed in
court not to personally purchase or distribute marijuana while awaiting
trial. However, he said he will continue to be active in the co-op.

In an interview afterward, his attorney, Bob Kennedy of Long Beach, said,
"The club will continue to meet its obligation for those unfortunate
individuals who are in need of medicinal marijuana."

But how it will do that is unclear.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," said Del Dalton, a Laguna Niguel
anesthesiologist who occasionally refers patients to the co-op. "It won't
do anyone any good to get a recommendation to use marijuana if they can't
obtain it."

Bill Britt, 38, of Long Beach, a patient advocate for the co-op, said
Chavez's arrest means the club will be forced into a less-direct role in
providing pot to patients.

"It will be a combination of referring other clubs, like L.A. and San
Diego, and other black market sources," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy District Attorney Carl Armbrust, who is prosecuting
Chavez, said his office will respond if it hears allegations of other co-op
members breaking the law.

"We know Chavez has some volunteers," Armbrust said. "We're trying to
figure out where they are and if they're going to continue this co-op."

The co-op has operated as an informal association of care-givers, growers
and patients, with Chavez's home serving as a makeshift headquarters.

Chavez, 43, started the association in November 1996 after voters passed an
initiative legalizing marijuana use for seriously ill people with a
doctor's note.

The law legalized possession and cultivation of marijuana in such cases,
but selling or distribution of the substance is still banned.

To get around that problem, Chavez, who could not be reached for comment
Friday, has argued that his group accepts "donations" from patients, a
semantic distinction that fell flat with prosecutors.

Both sides expect the case to go to trial.

"I appreciate the fact that the district attorney has given us the
opportunity to let 12 jurors make the decision if it is appropriate to
distribute marijuana in this manner," Kennedy said.

The co-op has suffered from the unwillingness of any Orange County
community to pass an ordinance sanctioning a cannabis club or otherwise
providing for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana for medical
purposes, an option permitted by the initiative.

Robert Harris, a medical marijuana activist from Humboldt County, said he
contacted Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth Frank about the possibility of
that city adopting such a law.

Frank, however, was dubious in an interview with The Register.

"While Laguna Beach probably is the most liberal city in Orange County, I
don't think Laguna Beach is on the same level as Berkeley, San Francisco or
Arcata," he said. "I just don't see any interest."