San Francisco D.A. hits out at DEA over pot bust

By Adrian Croft

SAN FRANCISCO, April 22 (Reuter) San Francisco's District Attorney slammed
federal agents Tuesday for raiding a club that supplies marijuana to the sick
and urged prosecutors not to file charges in the case.

District Attorney Terence Hallinan said his office did not know in advance
about Monday morning's raid by Drug Enforcement Administration agents on
``Flower Therapy,'' one of about five medicinal marijuana distribution
centres in San Francisco.

Describing the raid as ``a cavalier action,'' Hallinan said federal agents
were ``wading into a very murky thicket'' if they planned to enforce local
marijuana laws through federal courts.

DEA agents seized 331 marijuana plants and equipment from the club, whose
operators said it sells marijuana to about 1,000 people who use it to cope
with the pain of AIDS, cancer and other illnesses. No arrests were made.

The raid reignited controversy over Proposition 215, a measure passed by
California voters last November that allows sick people and their ``primary
caregiver'' to grow and possess marijuana for medicinal use when recommended
by a doctor.

The measure put California law at odds with federal law, which classifies
marijuana as an illegal drug and makes no exception for medicinal use. The
Clinton administration has pledged to sanction doctors who prescribe
marijuana.

Hallinan, a supporter of Proposition 215, said federal law usually deals with
major dealers or people involved in interstate transportation of the drug.

``It does not involve itself with smallscale marijuana cultivation or
possession and particularly where you have a cloudy issue like what is the
impact of Proposition 215,'' he told a news conference at his office.

``As best I can tell this was an action by the DEA. What authority they had
for it I'm not clear,'' Hallinan said.

He said it was ``inappropriate'' that the DEA agents kicked in doors and,
according to neighbours, carried rifles.

He said he was asking the U.S. Attorney for northern California, Michael
Yamaguchi, ``to put this whole matter on hold, to refuse to accept this case
... and give us an opportunity to work this out in court and through the
legislature.'' He noted that a case testing aspects of Proposition 215 was on
appeal in state courts.

Hallinan said he was urging Yamaguchi not to file charges and he believed the
DEA should return the seized equipment.

DEA spokesman Stan Vegar said he had no further comment about the case and a
spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office was not immediately available to
comment.

Vegar said Monday that the DEA's position, both before and after passage of
Proposition 215, was that it would ``investigate largescale marijuana
cultivation organisations.''

The operators of ``Flower Therapy'' and other Proposition 215 supporters
voiced outrage at the DEA raid.

``This is medicine for people with AIDS and cancer, people fighting for their
lives,'' ``Flower Therapy'' spokesman Todd Swindell said Monday, refering to
the seized marijuana plants.