COURT DECISION MAY CLOSE MARIN ALLIANCE POT CLUB

The founder of the state's oldest medical-marijuana dispensary plans
to spend the weekend deciding whether to close her Fairfax facility
after losing a motion to stop her eviction Friday.

Despite a plea from Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana attorneys,
Marin County Superior Court Judge Roy Chernus refused to stop the
eviction. He ruled that the dispensary's lease requires compliance
with federal law, which forbids selling cannabis.

"I've got to figure out how to fix this," club founder Lynnette Shaw
said after the hearing. "I'm very concerned about my patients' health."

Shaw and a team of lawyers have been fighting to stay open since her
dispensary became one of the targets of a federal crackdown this fall.
Last week, a federal judge rejected Shaw's request to stop federal
officials from pursuing the enforcement action.

In addition to serving as a cannabis dispensary, Shaw runs a medical
clinic at the site.

Last month, the U.S. attorney filed a federal drug-forfeiture
complaint against Farshid Ezazi of Orinda, who owns the club's office,
located behind the West Marin Little League baseball field. The feds
also threatened to seize the building.

In response, Ezazi moved to evict the club. Club attorneys argued that
a state judge had no right to enforce an eviction based upon a
violation of federal law.