OAKLAND CANNABIS CLUB FILES BRIEF

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 with 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 Dept. 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.