SAN FRANCISCO MIGHT RAISE OWN POT CROP

SAN FRANCISCO - Would it be forcing things too much to suggest that San
Francisco may be going to pot?

The city by the Bay is considering growing its own crop of marijuana.

The city Board of Supervisors voted Monday to put a measure on the November
ballot that would allow the city to explore the idea of growing pot and
distributing it to seriously ill patients who have permission from their
doctors.

Supporters say such a program on city-owned land could double as
agriculture job training for the unemployed.

Supervisor Mark Leno said he drafted the proposal because the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration remains determined to close down clubs that
distribute medical marijuana in San Francisco and across California.

California was the first state to approve medical marijuana with the
passage of Proposition 215 in 1996.

"If the federal government insists on standing in our way locally, we must
take matters into our own hands and protect the lives of our community
members and protect their right to access lifesaving medicine," Leno said.
"We have a lot of land. That's not going to be a problem."

Cultivating, possessing and distributing marijuana are illegal under
federal law.

"Unless Congress changes the law and makes marijuana a legal substance,
then we have to do our job and enforce the law, whether or not it's
popular," said Richard Meyer, a DEA spokesman in San Francisco.

ONLINE: Board of Supervisors, www.ci.sf.ca.us/bdsupvrs