LOW PROFILE FOR CITY'S POT PROP

Voters may have approved Proposition S, the measure that calls on city
officials to explore the possibility of growing and distributing
medical marijuana in The City, but now the tricky part begins --
actually implementing it.

"Cannabis has been proven over and over to have a beneficial effect,"
said Supervisor Bevan Dufty during a hearing held on the subject by
the Board of Supervisors' City Services Committee Oct. 2.

The meeting was packed with medical-marijuana supporters, who
represented the 62 percent of the electorate that passed Prop. S in
November 2002.

The measure seeks to further the intentions behind the 1996
voter-approved Proposition 215, the state measure that provides legal
protections for patients using pot for medicinal purposes.

However, "sharp hostility" on the part of President George W. Bush and
his administration toward California's medical-marijuana laws has
sought to undermine the will of the voters, according to Dufty.

The situation has resulted in a spate of raids that have closed some
medical-marijuana supply clubs across California and an onslaught of
legal conundrums that have prompted other clubs to close in order to
avoid troublesome legal battles.

For that reason, city officials who spoke at the hearing suggested
that the successful implementation of Prop. S would depend on
attracting very little attention.

"The key is to keep your head down and avoid city involvement as much
as possible," said District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who counseled
against using city land to harvest medical marijuana.

Instead, The City's role should include authorizing medical-marijuana
clubs to grow a limited amount of pot for needy patients, maintaining
availability to avoid seepage into the black market and setting
quality and price controls, Hallinan said.

Hettrich, however, cautioned against too much leniency by The City in
its interest to allow medical marijuana to flourish, especially if
cops were asked to provide costly security for the clubs. The City's
Police Department has already been criticized by federal agencies for
its relaxed attitude toward marijuana.