COURT CLAMPS DOWN ON POT CLUB

Injunction Prohibits Selling by S.F. Cannabis Club

Marijuana buyers clubs are once again in jeopardy following a state appeals
court ruling that says Proposition 215 doesn't allow them legally to sell
the drug.

The 1st District Court of Appeal on Friday reactivated an injunction
barring San Francisco's Cannabis Buyers Club from doing business. The
injunction was issued before voters passed the medical marijuana initiative
last year, but a Superior Court judge subsequently allowed the club to
reopen after the election.

Both sides reacted swiftly to the latest chapter in what has been a bitter
legal struggle.

Dennis Peron, author of Prop. 215 and the San Francisco club's founder,
said the judges "essentially were calling the voters fools." He said he
would appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

"Democracy itself is under attack here," said Peron, who along with five
others faces charges of possessing and transporting marijuana, which was
seized in a raid by state drug agents shortly before the marijuana measure
was passed. "(The judges) nullified the vote, essentially."

A spokesman for Gov. Wilson praised the decision. And Attorney General Dan
Lungren called the decision "welcome news" that would give law enforcement
the right once again to shut down San Francisco's club if it didn't do so
voluntarily within 30 days when the injunction is to take effect.

"They have accepted our arguments in their entirety, that Proposition 215
does not change the law with respect to these types of operations," said
Lungren.

Prop. 215 allows growing and possessing marijuana if it is recommended by a
doctor for treatment of symptoms from AIDS, cancer, arthritis, glaucoma,
migraine or other conditions.

Superior Court Judge David Garcia ruled the San Francisco club could sell
marijuana if designated as a "primary caregiver" by buyers. But the appeals
court ruled that the buyers club could not be a "primary caregiver" because
the term is defined as someone "who has consistently assumed responsibility
for the housing, health or safety of that person."

Presiding Justice J. Clinton Peterson wrote that the club is a business and
just one source of obtaining marijuana. Just because many patients have
designated it as a primary caregiver doesn't make the operation legal, he
said.

"If the drafters of the initiative wanted to legalize the sale of small
amounts of marijuana for approved medical purposes, they could have easily
done so," he said.

Peron said the decision would force sick people to "go to the park to buy
their marijuana."

"These judges have no compassion for the people," said Peron, who described
the mood at the club Friday night as somber."We're frustrated, watching
democracy being dismantled."

Justice Zerne Haning concurred with Peterson's opinion. Justice J. Anthony
Kline agreed that clubs could not be considered primary caregivers under
state law. But he said it was unnecessary to rule on whether the sale and
furnishing of marijuana should be illegal after the enactment of Prop. 215.

The intent of the proposition, Kline said, was to ensure that seriously ill
people have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes
where its use has been deemed appropriate by doctors.

"The "right to obtain' marijuana is, of course, meaningless if it cannot be
obtained legally," Kline wrote. "The majority (opinion) does not say
qualified users may not obtain marijuana but it does say no one has the
right to sell or furnish it to them, which is the functional equivalent."

Examiner news services contributed to this report.

©1997 San Francisco Examiner