Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (AR) Copyright: 2000 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Contact: 121 East Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, Arkansas, 72201 Website: http://www.ardemgaz.com/ Forum: http://www.ardemgaz.com/info/voices.html OFFICIALS TO APPEAL MEDICINAL 'POT' RULING SAN FRANCISCO -- The Justice Department will appeal a court ruling that cleared the way for an Oakland club to distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes, according to documents filed Tuesday by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Quinlivan. Quinlivan declined to comment. Under last week's federal court ruling, the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative could provide marijuana to people facing imminent harm from serious medical conditions, and for whom legal alternatives to marijuana don't work or cause intolerable side effects. Proposition 215, passed by California voters in 1996, allows seriously ill patients to grow and use marijuana for pain relief, with a doctor's recommendation, without state penalties. But federal law says marijuana has no medical purpose and cannot be administered safely under medical supervision. Initiatives similar to California's have passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state. - --- MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst