Source: Seattle Times (WA) Contact: Website: http://www.seattletimes.com/ Pubdate: Sun. 24 May 1998 Author: New York Times MARIJUANA CLUBS DEFY U.S. ORDER TO CLOSE SAN FRANCISCO - Seeking a showdown with the federal government, the founders of three medical marijuana clubs in this area have defied orders to shut down, hoping to place their fate in the hands of a jury. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer ordered six Northern California clubs closed on May 13 as part of a civil case brought by the Department of Justice, which accused the clubs of distributing marijuana in violation of federal law. Three outlets closed voluntarily. But clubs in Oakland, San Francisco and Marin County have remained open since the ruling, purposely inviting contempt-of-court charges, the clubs' owners said. Such charges would allow the owners to demand a federal jury trial in California, where voters in 1996 approved a ballot issue legalizing marijuana for medical use. "I'd trust a jury of Californians more than federal bureaucrats in Washington," said one of the owners, Jeffrey Jones, who directs a marijuana outlet in Oakland. Jones invited print and television reporters on Thursday to watch him sell marijuana to customers in an overt challenge to the federal government. The San Francisco club, founded by Dennis Peron, who was a co-author of the 1996 ballot issue, also defied the federal court order, selling cartons of marijuana to its 8,000 members throughout last week. After the 1996 vote, at least 20 clubs sprang up around the state for the declared purpose of distributing marijuana to help people fight the debilitating effects of cancer, AIDS and other illnesses. Critics say the law did not cover mass distribution of the drug. Possession of marijuana still violates federal law, which takes precedence over state statutes. Michael Yamaguchi, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, has described the federal government's civil suit as representing a "measured approach" against California marijuana clubs. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on how the agency would respond to the defiance by the clubs, but did not rule out bringing separate criminal drug indictments against the club owners. - --- Checked-by: Richard Lake