Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Pubdate: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 Author: Thaai Walker, Chronicle Staff Writer Section: Page A1 OAKLAND DEPUTIZES POT CLUB Move uses federal law exempting city agents Oakland declared a medical marijuana club a city agency yesterday, becoming the first city in the country to officially distribute pot for medicinal use. The novel tactic steps up the counterattack against the federal government's continuing efforts to shut down Northern California pot clubs. It uses the government's own law in an attempt to give club members immunity from civil or criminal liability. In a ceremony at City Hall, city officials designated the staff, volunteers and board of directors of the Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative as officers of the city. The Oakland club, which serves almost 1,800 chronically ill people from its downtown office, has been operating since the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996. That initiative legalized marijuana for medical uses. The Oakland club is one of three Northern California pot clubs that federal authorities are trying to shut down by the end of this month. A Justice Department spokesman warned that the battle is not over. ``I would discourage them from jumping to any premature conclusions,'' said spokesman Gregory King. He added only that his department is reviewing Oakland's action. Nonetheless, directors of the other two Northern California marijuana clubs, in Fairfax and Ukiah, were encouraged by the news and said they plan to try to gain the same status in their cities. ``This is wonderful news,'' said Marvin Lehrman, director of the Ukiah Cannabis Buyer's Club, which serves 200 patients. ``Oakland has made a pioneering step here.'' Making marijuana club workers deputies of the city is Oakland's latest move since a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in May ordering the Oakland club and five others to close. Three have since shut down, but the other three have defied the order, saying they have not violated federal law. City leaders and medical marijuana advocates have expressed hope that their new strategy, made possible by the passage of an Oakland ordinance approved last month, will help them outmaneuver the federal government. ``This designation will permit the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative to distribute medical cannabis within federal law,'' said Gerald Uelmen, a prominent Santa Clara attorney representing the club. Uelmen is best-known as a member of the O.J. Simpson ``dream team.'' ``That means the federal government has no case,'' he said. Federal law, which supersedes state law, says marijuana used for any purposes is illegal. Using the federal law to make their case, attorneys for the club said that by a section of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, the club is now immune from federal criminal and civil liability. The section states that any officer of a city who is enforcing an ordinance relating to controlled substances cannot be prosecuted under the act. The federal government's legal actions have been aimed at the Oakland, Marin and Ukiah clubs and three others that have since closed -- two in San Francisco, including Dennis Peron's Cannabis Healing Center on Market Street, and one in Santa Cruz. On August 31, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer will decide whether to strengthen his previous order by allowing federal agents to shut down the clubs. Attorneys for the Oakland club plan to file a motion today asking the judge to dismiss the federal petition in light of the city's new ordinance. Inside the cooperative's simple, well-lighted offices yesterday, defiant club members and staff breathed a sigh of relief. To them, the city's sanction of their program is a sign that they will survive. ``We're not going to go away,'' said Jim McClelland, the club's business manager. Scott Imler, director of the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center in West Hollywood, called Oakland's actions an ``innovative idea'' and said he thought it ``ironic'' that a loophole in the Controlled Substances Act that was established to allow ``narcs to set people up in drug stings could be turned around like that on the federal government.'' But he said he is not sure the tactic will prevent the club from being shut down. Imler said the federal government took actions to close down the Northern California clubs because undercover agents were able to gain access to them with phony documentation. ``I don't know if after-the-fact designation will be enough to stave off the injunction already issued,'' Imler said. ``The cow may be out of the barn before the door got closed.'' Robert Raich, an attorney representing the Oakland club, said the undercover agents used ``lies and deceit.'' That they gained access does not indicate the club is careless, he said. ``They had a sophisticated operation,'' he said. ``(The club's) procedures were not lax.'' City officials also said yesterday that they are confident that the club is run in a professional manner. The city reviewed the club's licensing and tax status, security measures and insurance coverage before going forward with the designation. Medical marijuana advocates were upbeat. ``This gives me hope,'' said Lynnette Shaw, who runs Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Fairfax. ``We've been waiting to see what happened in Oakland before moving forward.'' Fairfax Town Council member Frank Egger said town officials are supportive of the Fairfax pot club, but he said he will contact Oakland's city attorney to find out more about liability issues associated with the city's action. Oakland Councilman Nate Miley, an ardent advocate of the use of medicinal marijuana, acknowledged yesterday that the city could be subject to state and federal criminal and civil prosecution, but he said the city is willing to take that risk. ``If the federal government wants to prosecute me or my colleagues, then prosecute. Bring it on,'' he said. The battle over medicinal marijuana has intensified since California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 215. Oakland has pushed to the forefront of the issue. In addition to its latest maneuver, it has approved a policy allowing medical marijuana users to store up to 1 1/2 pounds of the drug -- 24 times more than state law allows. 1998 San Francisco Chronicle - --- Checked-by: Mike Gogulski