CANNABIS CO-OP FIGHTS IN COURT FOR ITS SURVIVAL

The Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative's battle to stay alive moved ahead
this week as it filed a brief outlining its constitutional arguments against
a permanent federally ordered shutdown.

The brief, filed Monday for U.S. Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco,
claims that the federal government is overstepping its control of interstate
commerce; that it's violating California's power to enact public health and
safety measures; and that it's violating people's rights to have relief from
pain, to prolong life and to consult with and act upon a doctor's
recommendation under the Fifth and Ninth amendments to the Constitution.

OCBC attorney Robert Raich said the government will reply and the
cooperative will file a final response before Breyer holds a hearing,
tentatively set for Feb. 16.

The U.S. Justice Department, which doesn't comment on pending cases, in 1998
convinced Breyer to issue a preliminary injunction halting the OCBC's
distribution of marijuana to its 2,500 members. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals in 2000 ruled the OCBC could claim an exception to the federal
Controlled Substances Act -- which lists marijuana on its most-restricted
"schedule," meaning Congress believes it has no valid medical use -- because
its members have a medical necessity for the drug.

But the U.S. Supreme Court last May voted 8-0 to overturn the 9th Circuit
court's ruling. The case was sent back to the 9th Circuit, and the OCBC last
October filed a brief raising these constitutional issues. The appellate
court on Dec. 4 ordered Breyer to consider them.