DEFIANT CALIFORNIA CITY HANDS OUT MARIJUANA

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Sept. 17 - Christopher Krohn, mayor of this laid-back
beach town, wore his pinstriped suit to work today because he wanted to
appear serious before the television cameras.

Mayor Krohn, several City Council members and two former mayors gathered in
front of City Hall this afternoon to witness a medical marijuana giveaway in
protest of a federal raid two weeks ago on a local cannabis collective.
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It was a direct challenge to the Drug Enforcement Administration, and though
the mayor did not physically handle the marijuana today, he was unsure
whether he would be going to jail.

"We are not California wackos," the mayor said in an interview. "We are
trailblazers. We are normal. This is not an attempt to embarrass the D.E.A.
but rather a compassionate gathering in support of sick people who need
their medicine."

Since the United States Supreme Court ruled last year that the 1996
California voter initiative legalizing medical marijuana did not provide a
defense against federal prosecution, the state has become the target of Bush
administration efforts to crack down on the cultivation and distribution of
the drug.

The federal authorities have raided marijuana clubs in West Hollywood, San
Francisco, Oakland and Sebastapol.

Nine states have enacted laws allowing medical marijuana use in some
circumstances since 1996; in addition to California, they are Alaska,
Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Why
California plays such a central role is the subject of debate. Its law is
the earliest and vaguest, and advocates here are more vocal, visible and
provocative. Its climate is better suited to the crop than, say, Maine's, so
the larger-scale distribution here is more likely to meet informal federal
guidelines for what warrants prosecution.

"Most of the raids we've executed in California have involved 100-plus
plants," said Will Glaspy, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement
Administration. "We're not talking about small growers."

Also, big raids in California are more likely to receive national attention.

"I think maybe we're more visible and further along in this process," said
Prof. Gerald Uelmen of the Santa Clara College School of Law, noting that
there is no allowance in the state law for distribution of marijuana beyond
the primary caregiver, although local governments interpret that broadly.

Professor Uelman represents the owners of the nationally known marijuana
collective outside Santa Cruz raided on Sept. 5 by the Drug Enforcement
Administration. That raid may have been one of many but the reaction was
particularly emotional, and it inspired the rally here. The target was the
farm belonging to Michael and Valerie Corral, who helped draft Proposition
215, California's 1996 medical marijuana initiative. The Corrals were
arrested on charges of conspiracy and suspicion of intent to distribute
marijuana. Agents seized three rifles, a shotgun and 167 budding marijuana
plants. The couple, fearful of federal harassment, are now in hiding.

"It's hard to tell the difference between a so-called club and an operation
that cultivates and traffics in marijuana," said Mr. Glaspy of the D.E.A.
"What you really have in California are people fattening their pocketbooks
under the disguise of medicine."

Valerie Corral, in a cellphone interview, said of the accusation, "That's
outrageous," adding: "I live off the land. They can check my bank accounts.
I'll take a lie-detector test. We're here to help dying people."

The raid was a surprise to local officials, who said the Corrals' farm
complied with the state's marijuana law and had been publicly operating for
10 years.

"It's a shock," Mayor Krohn said. "We've worked with the D.E.A. here on our
heroin problem. We appreciate their assistance in those cases. But this raid
was unannounced and against the will of the people."

The California attorney general, Bill Lockyer, a strong proponent of
Proposition 215, sent a pointed letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft,
asking for a meeting and criticizing "punitive expeditions" against "locally
authorized medical marijuana operations."

Kevin Ryan, the new United States attorney in San Francisco, has yet to seek
an indictment in the Corral case. A spokesman said he would not comment on
the investigation.

In the case of the West Hollywood cooperative, prosecutors have sued to
seize the property, considered the biggest medical marijuana operation in
Southern California, though no criminal charges have been brought.

Special Agent Richard Meyer, a spokesman for the San Francisco bureau of the
D.E.A., would not say whether anyone would be arrested in connection with
today's protest but questioned why city elders would interject themselves
into such a stunt.

"What kind of message are city officials sending to the youth of Santa
Cruz?" Mr. Meyer asked. "The law of the land is that marijuana is an illegal
drug. We will enforce those laws. You cannot pick and choose what laws apply
to you and those that don't."

Daniel N. Abrahamson, the director of legal affairs of the Drug Policy
Alliance, which advocates less strict drug laws, said the federal government
may be sending its own counterproductive message.

"To what extent does the federal government's policy backfire by emboldening
state and local officials to engage in what amounts to civil disobedience?"
Mr. Abrahamson asked.

The crackdown in California comes as fall elections will enable citizens
across the country to vote on a variety of marijuana proposals.

In San Francisco, voters will decide whether the city should go into the
marijuana growing business to supply patients.

Nevadans will decide whether to allow adults 21 and older to possess as much
as three ounces of marijuana, whether they are sick or not, with no threat
of criminal penalty. They would not be allowed to smoke it in public or
operate a motor vehicle. Under current state law, anyone caught with that
much marijuana could face four years in prison. Arizona, Ohio and Michigan
have initiatives on the ballot that would reduce penalties for possession.

In July a bipartisan bill was introduced into the House of Representatives
to legalize marijuana for medical use, removing any conflict between state
and federal law, though the legislation seems to have little support.

As the rally got under way today, the sick and needy gathered in front of
the City Hall steps: one-legged men, people in wheelchairs, AIDS patients,
women with breast cancer.

While people smoked marijuana on the lawn in front of City Hall, cigarette
smokers were asked to move to the sidewalk.

There were others with more dubious intentions. A man in a fraternity
sweatshirt came with a photocopy of a generic prescription entitling the
bearer to marijuana. The man claimed he had chronic headaches and joint
pains. When asked his name, he demurred. "I don't want my parents to find
out," he said.