STATE FIGHTS FOR MEDICAL POT USE

California Joins Case On Oakland Cannabis Club Future.

An assistant state attorney general urged a judge Friday not to gut
California's medical marijuana law by allowing the federal government to
shut down the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative.

Taylor Carey, a special assistant from state Attorney General Bill
Lockyer's office, told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that a court
injunction against the club would "undercut" Proposition 215, the state
initiative passed in 1996 that allows people to use marijuana as medicine.

Friday's hearing was the first courtroom argument since May 2001, when the
U.S. Supreme Court dealt a major setback to the cooperative and its
executive director, Jeff Jones, when it said the organization could not use
"medical necessity" to defend its distribution of an illegal drug.

The case had reached the high court after the federal government in 1998
obtained a temporary civil injunction forcing the cooperative to stop
dispensing marijuana.

Carey's appearance in the San Francisco court was significant. Although the
state previously had filed a "friend of the court" brief, it was the first
time one of Lockyer's representatives came in person to tell the feds to
mind their own business.

"The sovereign act of adopting Prop. 215 should be respected. We believe
the (federal) Controlled Substances Act is going too far," Carey said.
Carey's speech to Breyer came during an otherwise unexciting court date.
One federal government lawyer showed up, while about nine attorneys from
California marijuana cooperatives attended, along with several patients and
other supporters.

But Carey was the only one allowed to address the merits of the case.
Breyer focused the rest of the discussion on the technicalities of his next
move.

Since the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court, the federal
government has filed a motion asking for a judgment in its favor: a
permanent civil injunction to keep the cooperative from providing the drug.
For its part, the cooperative filed a motion to dissolve the temporary
injunction so it can reopen.

Breyer indicated he was leaning toward a decision in favor of the federal
government. Both sides have indicated they would appeal to the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We think there are several issues that the Supreme Court didn't address,"
said Annette Carnegie, attorney for the cooperative. "The case is far from
over."