cannabisnews.com: Political Shift May Usher In New Pot Club! 





Political Shift May Usher In New Pot Club! 
Posted by FoM on January 14, 1999 at 14:08:40 PT

Heartened by the change of administrations in Sacramento, advocates of Medical Marijuana are gearing up to open a new medicinal pot club in San Francisco -- even though they may be headed straight for a federal shutdown. 
State and local authorities have indicated tacit support for a new club, a marked change in policy from Sacramento. This week, however, federal officials said they could not allow a new club to remain open. Supporters of medical marijuana say the city generally has been bereft of legal pot since the San Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Club was closed in April. The San Francisco Sheriff's Department shut the club on a Superior Court order after a long campaign against the outlet by former Attorney General Dan Lungren. But now that Democrat Bill Lockyer is attorney general, say the advocates, the time is ripe for therapeutic pot clubs to once again open their doors in San Francisco. ``A couple of small outlets are currently operating, but the level of service they can provide is really minimal,'' said Jane Weirick, the executive director of the San Francisco Patients Resource Center, an ad hoc organization that plans to open the new club. Weirick envisions an outlet comparable in size to the old Cannabis Cultivators Club, which served about 9,000 patients under the direction of its controversial leader, Dennis Peron. Weirick said her group is searching for a building to house the new club, which she hopes to have running in six weeks or less. The group has enough money to start, said Weirick, ``but we could always use more.'' One thing that will not inhibit the opening is the availability -- or rather, unavailability -- of the high- quality pot needed for medical use, said Weirick. ``There's a lot of it around,'' she said. ``That's the least of our problems.'' Weirick said the new club will operate along stricter guidelines than the old CCC. Peron was pilloried and ultimately prosecuted for what law enforcement officials said was a lax operation. ``We plan to run a very tight ship, using the model for the Oakland Cannabis Club, which set up a very workable system,'' she said. ``In fact, the Oakland club will handle all our eligibility paperwork and issue our membership cards,'' she said. ``They're already geared up to do it, and there's no point in reinventing the wheel. Eventually, we'd like to see a statewide cooperative of clubs that would all honor the same cards.'' Jeff Jones, the executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Club -- which saw its dispensary shut down October 20 by federal marshals -- said his eligibility requirements are simple but tough. ``First, we get a letter of recommendation from a physician,'' he said. ``Then we have a staff nurse call the physician to make sure the recommendation is not fraudulent. Then we call the state medical board to make sure the physician can legally prescribe drugs and that there are no complaints against his or her license.'' As far as the planned San Francisco club goes, said Weirick, only cardholders authorized to buy marijuana will be allowed into the areas where the pot is dispensed. ``That way there will be no doubt about the legality of the operation under Proposition 215 (the medical marijuana initiative that passed in 1996).'' Proposition 215 decriminalizes the use and possession of medical marijuana at the state level, but pot remains illegal under federal law. ``It is still a controlled substance under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act,'' said Evelyn James, the public information officer for the San Francisco office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. ``That hasn't changed.'' ``Our position (in San Francisco) is that because it is a controlled substance, it would be appropriate to move against a new club,'' she said. With such a shutdown in mind, Weirick said, the new club will have a separate clinic and administrative center. ``That way, we'll be able to conduct patient support even if the clinic (where the marijuana is dispensed) is forced to close,'' she said. Weirick's group seems to be getting a green light from city officials. San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan said a major medical marijuana outlet is a good idea for San Francisco -- as long as it is tightly regulated. ``I've always said that it is more of a health issue than a legal issue,'' he said. ``Locally, this should strictly be a matter for the city Department of Health.'' Weirick said Peron will have no direct involvement in the new club ``except as a spiritual adviser. Without him, we never would have come this far.'' Flamboyant and aggressively partisan, Peron opened his first cannabis club in 1992. He soon became a prime target for state prosecutors. State agents raided his Market Street outlet in August 1996. Three months later, voters approved Proposition 215, the medical marijuana legalization initiative that Peron had drafted. Despite 215's passage, Lungren continued his campaign against Peron. State charges for the illegal possession and distribution of marijuana remain outstanding against Peron and several associates, though it is unclear whether Lockyer -- who voted for Proposition 215 --will continue to pursue the matter. ``There are no plans at this time (to drop) that case,'' said Hilary McLean, a spokeswoman for Lockyer. McLean said that Lockyer generally supports the idea of medical marijuana but that he has some problems with Proposition 215. ``Bill voted for the initiative, and he has always supported access to appropriate medicine for people who need it,'' she said, noting that Lockyer's mother and sister both died of leukemia. ``But he has also said he sees some real problems with 215,'' McLean said. ``It runs counter to federal law, and it is in conflict with some aspects of state law. Bill wants to work out some kind of accommodation with the federal government and state legislators so that the people who truly need this medicine can get it.'' Hallinan also thinks the federal government could inhibit the resuscitation of San Francisco's cannabis clubs. The U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against six state cannabis clubs last year, and federal agencies apparently remain uniformly opposed to medical marijuana. Still, Hallinan is moderately optimistic. ``With a new state administration, we can hopefully reach an accommodation with the feds,'' said Hallinan. ``The main reason they came down so hard on the clubs in the past was because Lungren was urging them to do it.'' DEA agent James said that she didn't know if the advent of a new administration in Sacramento could presage a change in the opinions of U.S. Department of Justice and DEA administrators regarding medical marijuana. James said that federal agents are unimpressed with Proposition 215 and the thesis that marijuana has genuine therapeutic applications. ``Here you have a situation where the opinion of registered voters takes precedence over the medical establishment,'' she said. ``My heart goes out to people who are sick, but I worry that these folks are being sold a bill of goods -- that they're missing out on legitimate therapies because they've been taken in by the medical marijuana hype.'' 
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