WEST HOLLYWOOD SAYS MEDICAL POT OK

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- The City Council has declared West Hollywood a
"sanctuary" for medical marijuana use.

Copies of its resolution were sent to federal law enforcement officials who
continue to conduct raids in California, although the state's voters
legalized medicinal marijuana use five years ago.

"Where are the federal government's priorities?" Councilman Jeffrey Prang
asked after Monday's passage of the resolution he sponsored.

The sanctuary resolution is only symbolic, with federal law outlawing
marijuana use still superseding state law.

The resolution's adoption follows an Oct. 25 raid in which federal agents
shut down a West Hollywood cannabis club.

The West Hollywood center, which opened in 1996, provides marijuana to
patients suffering from AIDS, epilepsy, glaucoma, cancer and other serious
illnesses, said center spokesman Scott Imler.