THOUSANDS OF PRO-MARIJUANA PROTESTERS MARCH IN FAVOR OF LEGALIZATION

SAN FRANCISCO, May 5 (AFP) - Several thousand protesters here
demonstrated against a US crackdown on the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes, after a federal judge supported a US government
lawsuit against five San Francisco area cannabis clubs.

Organizers said the San Francisco Cannabis Freedom Day rally Saturday
was one of some 200 such events which took place in 30 countries to
mark the Fourth Annual Million Marijuana March.

San Francisco protesters also marched however to show their ire over a
US federal district court ruling Friday siding with a US Justice
Department lawsuit seeking to close down five of the area's cannabis
clubs.

Some patients suffering from cancer, AIDS or other ailments say that
marijuana can ease their discomfort, and the cannabis clubs --
legalized under a 1996 California initiative -- distribute the
otherwise illegal substance.

The US Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling last year, determined
however that medical necessity was not a defense for those who
distribute marijuana -- underscoring the discrepancy between federal
and California law.

Judge Charles Breyer rejected the defendents' constitutional arguments
against allowing the clubs to remain open and upheld a temporary
injunction closing the clubs.

Breyer is to hear additional arguments in the case at a May 24 court
hearing.

Many of those attending the San Francisco rally said they feared that
federal authorities are poised to raid local cannabis clubs which have
become the focal point of the US medical marijuana movement.

"We've been told that the raids are imminent," said Michael Barbitta
who works for the group Californians Helping Alleviate Medical
Problems -- CHAMP -- one of two San Francisco cannabis clubs which
shut their doors Friday after the judgment was issued.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been waiting for this
decision which they will use as ammunition to close the clubs,"
Barbitta said.

DEA spokesman Richard Meyer declined to comment on future
operations.

"We are taking into account what happens in court and will adjust our
operational decisions accordingly," said Meyer.

"Marijuana remains illegal," he said. "We are enforcing the law and
the courts are siding with us."

California's cannabis clubs serve an estimated 20,000 patients under
Proposition 215, the 1996 state law permitting the use of medical
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

But federal authorities now are prosecuting at least twelve California
medical cannabis patients under US narcotics laws.

"I'm very afraid. This is a life or death issue for me," said a
medical marijuana patient at today's rally who identified himself as
Brother Wayne.

"I suffer from disabling AIDS neuropathy and medical marijuana is the
only thing that helps me keep food down."

Robert Raich, a lawyer for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative
which was named in the US government lawsuit against five San
Francisco area cannabis clubs, argued that the federal government
exceeded its constitutional authority over interstate commerce by
banning cannabis distribution within California.

"We will appeal and we feel confident of a much more favorable ruling
in the court of appeals," Raich said.