CALIFORNIA POT CLUBS TARGETED
U.S. FILES LAWSUIT TO CLOSE CENTERS

The Clinton administration yesterday moved in federal court to shut down
California clubs that sell marijuana to cancer and AIDS patients under
voter-approved Proposition 215.

U.S. Attorney Michael Yamaguchi, declaring that the sale of marijuana for
any purpose but research is strictly against the law, filed suit against
six pot clubs, and threatened future criminal penalties against their
operators.

While the legal action targets a handful of Northern California clubs,
Yamaguchi said the law applies to anyone in the state. The intent is to
close all medical marijuana centers.

``I have sworn an oath to uphold federal law,'' he said.

Six pot club operators, including San Francisco's notoriously flamboyant
Dennis Peron, were ordered to appear before a federal judge in 20 days for
a hearing on the Justice Department motion for an injunction barring
further sale of marijuana.

By declaring that any marijuana use for medical purposes is illegal, the
Clinton administration is directly challenging California voters, who
passed Proposition 215 in November 1996 by 56 to 44 percent.

The action sets the stage for a possible clash over the rights of states
and their citizens to make laws disapproved of by the federal government.

``The issue is not the medical use of marijuana,'' said Yamaguchi. ``It is
the persistent violation of federal law. Under our system of federalism,
laws passed by Congress cannot be overridden or supplanted by state law.''

Marijuana is listed in federal statutes as a Schedule I Controlled
Substance, along with heroin, mescaline and LSD. It is unlawful to grow it,
own it, sell it or smoke it.

The six civil complaints follow an extensive undercover investigation by
Drug Enforcement Administration agents who posed as patients and bought
marijuana from the clubs.

Targets of the federal subpoenas are the Cannabis Cultivators Club and the
Flower Therapy Medical Marijuana Club, both in San Francisco; the Oakland
Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, Oakland; the Santa Cruz Cannabis Buyer's
Club, Santa Cruz; the Ukiah Buyer's Club; and the Marin Alliance for
Medical Marijuana, in Fairfax.

Yamaguchi's declaration was made at a San Francisco press conference
arranged by Washington D.C.-based Justice Department staffers. He was
flanked at the podium by Michelle Leonhart, the DEA's special agent in
charge of Northern California, and by Mark Quinlivan, a Justice Department
lawyer.

Yamaguchi's stance against the medical use of marijuana goes a step beyond
that taken by California Attorney General Dan Lungren, who wants pot clubs
closed but concedes Proposition 215 allows personal cultivation of pot for
medical purposes.

Lungren yesterday delayed plans to raid Peron's Cannabis Cultivators' Club
in San Francisco on January 12 -- a deadline he had set for compliance with
a December state appeals court ruling. Instead, Lungren is returning to San
Francisco Superior Court to obtain an injunction against the club.

Lungren spokesman Rob Stutzman hailed the federal law enforcement action
against the California clubs, and said it does not conflict or interfere
with state efforts to shut them down.

Pot club operators were furious with Yamaguchi's actions. ``We're not
talking about just marijuana anymore,'' said Peron, at an impromptu meeting
with reporters just after the U.S. Attorney's press conference. Peron had
attempted to attend the session as a journalist with the Cannabis
Cultivators' Club newsletter but was denied entry by federal marshals.

Peron immediately blamed Lungren for the federal action, declaring that the
state attorney general had flown to Washington to arrange the court action.
``This takes him off the hook,'' said Peron. ``Now the feds can do it.''

Stutzman denied Lungren had met with federal officials. ``He's not `on the
hook.' He's enforcing state law.'' Peter Baez, executive director of the
Santa Clara Medical Cannabis Center, said he was ``shocked'' by the federal
action. Baez' club, which is strongly supported by San Jose civic leaders,
was not named among the six pot clubs targeted.

Although Baez has been critical of Peron's grandstanding on marijuana
issues, he conceded that the federal government now views them all as
criminals. ``The democratic process prevailed, and now the feds come in and
say it doesn't count. I find that appalling,'' he said.

Baez said he locked the doors of his center when he heard that federal
agents were fanning out to visit California pot centers. ``It's almost like
Waco, all over again,'' he said.

Lynette Shaw, executive director of the Marin Alliance for Medical
Marijuana, said she was incensed that the Clinton administration would
target a center that has tried so carefully to abide by the rules.

``We've got permits. We've got 85 conditions we've complied with,'' she
said. ``If they shut down the clubs, people will go blind, people will
suffer, people will die of AIDS wasting.''

©1998 San Francisco Chronicle