Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Contact: Website: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Pubdate: Fri, 22 May 1998 Authors: Henry K. Lee, Jaxon Van Derbeken, Torri Minton, Chronicle Staff Writers POT CLUB ORDERED CLOSED BY S.F. SUPERIOR COURT A San Francisco Superior Court judge yesterday declared the nation's largest medical marijuana club a ``public nuisance'' and ordered it shut down. The Cannabis Healing Center was infiltrated by undercover agents this month and must close by Tuesday, stated Judge William Cahill. Even with voter approval of Proposition 215, Cahill found that the center's sale, possession and cultivation of cannabis violates state law. ``There is no legal defense to selling marijuana,'' Cahill ruled. His order came a day after a federal order was announced, barring six Northern California pot clubs from selling medical marijuana. Yesterday, business continued as usual at many of the clubs, including the Cannabis Healing Center. The center remained open into the evening, and staff vowed to continue serving an estimated 8,000 patients while their lawyer appeals the Superior Court decision. Cahill's ruling marked the third time in two years that a medical pot club founded by Dennis Peron was ordered closed. ``This is just a small battle in the war,'' said registered nurse and Cannabis Healing Center volunteer Lynne Barnes. ``We think patience and compassion will win in the end.'' The state attorney general's office, however, was ``very pleased,'' said spokesman Matt Ross. He said the ruling ``will shut down that whole operation.'' ``We argued that the law allows for a patient to have a primary caregiver to care for their needs on a consistent basis,'' he said. ``That was not what was happening here. . . .'' Judge Cahill noted that three times in May, undercover agents bought marijuana at the center after submitting phony prescriptions with no verification. On May 1, an agent went to the center with a phony doctor's recommendation for pot, completed the form, and was taken to the third floor where four lines of six people each stood before a counter with a marijuana ``menu board on it,'' Cahill stated. That agent allegedly bought one-quarter ounce of marijuana for $20. Agents visited the Market Street club again on May 3 and 5, each time buying pot, Cahill said. ``The evidence shows that marijuana can be purchased in practically any quantity by anyone willing to fill out the Cannabis Healing Center's forms and to designate (director) Hazel Rodgers as their `exclusive' caregiver for the purposes of obtaining medical marijuana,'' Cahill found. Meanwhile, the federal order barring California pot clubs from selling medical marijuana in violation of federal law seemed to have little effect. In Oakland, a club openly defied the federal court order -- even kicking out an undercover agent wearing a shirt with the word ``cannabis'' on it. Staff at the 2-year-old cooperative on Broadway hawked pot brownies, Rice Krispies and muffins. They made sure everyone had valid identification and doctor's permission. ``The marijuana has been such a godsend for me,'' said Yvonne Westbrook, 45, of Richmond, a multiple-sclerosis patient and wheelchair user who received one-eighth of an ounce of ``mid-grade'' marijuana in a baggie. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has ordered six Northern California pot clubs from growing or distributing marijuana -- two in San Francisco and one each in Oakland, southern Marin County, Santa Cruz and Ukiah. The state has more than 30 medical marijuana clubs. ``What kills me is that the people have already spoken -- since when does the law mean nothing?'' said Westbrook, who uses the marijuana to reduce leg spasms. As a news conference was about to start at the center, a security guard stopped a plainclothes Drug Enforcement Administration agent who tried to get in with a phony doctor's note and driver's license. The long-haired agent did not respond to questions and hid his face with his hand. Attorney Gerald Uelmen, a Santa Clara University law professor who is defending the Oakland club, said the ruling exempts the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Sheriff's Department intends to carry out the order against the Cannabis Healing Center by no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, said Eileen Hirst, the sheriff's chief of staff. ``This is not your average everyday eviction,'' Hirst said. ``We need to do some planning, and we'll do it within the time the judge ordered.'' The order calls for the sheriff to change all the locks, to arrange to remove property that does not belong to the owner of the building and to remove all unauthorized people, including 79-year-old Rodgers, the center's director, and founder Dennis Peron. ©1998 San Francisco Chronicle - --- Checked-by: Richard Lake