U.S. MOVES TO SHUT DOWN CALIFORNIA MARIJUANA CLUBS

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice filed lawsuits
Friday in a bid to shut down six California marijuana distribution clubs on
the grounds they violated federal drug laws.

The civil lawsuits, filed in federal courts in San Francisco and San Jose,
marked the latest legal skirmish to rise from California's Proposition 215,
the 1996 voter-approved law that legalized marijuana use for people
suffering from AIDS, cancer and other serious ailments.

Michael Yamaguchi, U.S. attorney for northern California, told a news
conference the clubs were operating outside the boundaries of the federal
Controlled Substances Act, which makes it illegal to cultivate, distribute
or possess marijuana except for government-approved research.

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

Local marijuana advocates reacted with outrage and vowed to fight the
lawsuits in court.

Dennis Peron, maverick founder of San Francisco's Cannabis Buyers Club,
said he would appear in federal court in 20 days to fight the government
request to shut down his organization.

``Until then, we're going to sell a lot of marijuana to our sick and dying
friends who need it,'' Peron said.

Peron, a gay Vietnam War veteran who led the successful campaign to
legalize medical marijuana use in the state, announced last month plans to
run for the office of California governor in 1998.

Peron's bid for governor pits him against his longtime nemesis California
Attorney General Dan Lungren, the hard-line conservative who was one of the
leading foes of Proposition 215.