* This message forwarded from private area of Rich Woods
  * Original message dated 09 Jan 97  09:23:41, from J.j. & Helen Johnson
 
 Apparently-to: rich.woods@245.genesplicer.org
Date: Thu, 09 Jan 1997 12:23:41 -0500
From: eplurib@megalinx.net (J.J. & Helen Johnson)
From the AP Online, located at:
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/APONLINE/NATIONAL/slugs10279.htm
**** This promises to be very interesting. The last line of the
article is a beaut! **** H.J.
                                                                      
01-09-97 1200EST 
Judges OKs Marijuana Club
By MARK EVANS= Associated Press Writer= 
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A judge cleared way for the reopening
next week of a club whose purpose is to sell marijuana to seriously
ill people to ease their symptoms and boost their appetites. 
Superior Court Judge David Garcia's action Wednesday was a nod
to California voters' approval in November of Proposition 215,
which allows people to cultivate and possess marijuana with a
doctor's permission. 
``Democracy works. I had my doubts,'' said Dennis Peron,
 founder of the Cannabis Buyers' Club. ``I knew we'd win in the
long run, I just didn't think it would be so damn quick.'' 
Peron and five other club members still face drug-related criminal
charges, and the club's future is likely to be decided by higher
courts. 
State drug agents raided the club in August, and Attorney General
Dan Lungren shut it down, saying a two-year investigation
revealed evidence of non-medical marijuana sales. A judge kept it
closed with a temporary order. 
Garcia's modification of that court order allows the club to sell and
cultivate marijuana. It plans to open Wednesday for member
registration under a new name, the Cannabis Cultivators' Club. 
It claimed 12,000 members prior to its August closure. 
Lungren opposes allowing the club to reopen, arguing that it is not
a ``primary caregiver'' as required by the new law. 
``This case appears to provide an excellent vehicle for the state
appellate court to jump in and provide some guidelines as to what
the limits of Proposition 215 are, especially the law's definition of
`primary caregiver,''' said Lungren spokesman Steve Telliano. 
``We're saying that primary caregiver applies to individuals; what
they're saying is that it applies to a group,'' he said. 
Telliano also said the judge's ruling forces the club to adhere to
stringent guidelines. Club leaders kept shoddy records and loose
regulations prior to the club's closure, Telliano claimed. 
Those seeking marijuana are still likely to face trouble on at least
one front obtaining a doctor's prescription. Federal officials said
last month that doctors in California and in Arizona, which has a
similar new law, could lose their prescription-writing privileges or
face criminal charges for recommending the drug. 
But Peron said there were many doctors willing to provide such
prescriptions despite the federal threat. 
``They're going to put doctors in jail? I say stand up to the bully
and they back down,'' Peron said.
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