FEDS SUE TO END CALIF. POT CLUBS

SAN FRANCISCO - For the first time since California voters approved the
medical use of marijuana, the federal government has begun legal action to
close six Northern California clubs that sell the weed.

The government wants to "send a clear message regarding the illegality of
marijuana cultivation and distribution," said Michael Yamaguchi, the U.S.
Attorney for Northern California.

His office filed civil lawsuits Friday accusing the clubs and 10 of their
operators with distribution of marijuana and seeking permanent injunctions
to close centers in San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz, Ukiah and Marin
County.

The move comes a medical marijuana advocates in Colorado, Alaska and
Washington, D.C. are pushing to follow California's lead, seeking similar
ballot initiatives to let patients grow and use marijuana with a doctor's
recommendation.

"They are trying to thwart the will of the people of California, trying to
put out a brush fire before it sweeps into a forest fire," said Dennis
Peron, founder of the San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Club, the state's
largest club selling marijuana.