Pubdate: Sat, 19 May 2001
Source: Daily Californian, The (CA)
Copyright: 2001 The Daily Californian
Contact:  http://www.dailycal.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/597
Author: Steve Sexton
Bookmark:  http://www.mapinc.org/ocbc.htm

CITY OF BERKELEY PONDERS HOW TO REACT TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULING

(U-WIRE) BERKELEY, Calif. -- With this week's U.S. Supreme Court 
ruling barring distribution of medical marijuana, Berkeley officials 
are wondering what to do with the city's new policies regarding the 
drug.

The unanimous decision in the federal government's case against the 
Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative affirms that marijuana growers 
and distributors are subject to federal prosecution even though state 
law allows the drug to be handed out for medical reasons.

Berkeley Mayor Shirley Dean, who was surprised by the court's 
opinion, said the city will have to wait and see what the practical 
effects of the ruling are.

She said the city's recently-passed medical marijuana ordinance, 
which allows patients to grow 10 marijuana plants, will remain in 
effect, though she was not sure if plans to establish zoning for 
co-ops in Berkeley are appropriate.

"I don't know if the city should clarify zoning for an 'illegal 
activity,'" Dean said.

She said the city attorney, who could not be reached for comment 
Thursday afternoon, will play an active role in determining the 
city's response to the ruling.

"It puts the city in an extremely difficult position because the city 
cannot knowingly violate federal law," Dean said. "I don't think the 
city can ignore federal law, but I also don't think it has to enforce 
it."

The city may not have a large role to play in enforcing the law, said 
Jesse Choper, a professor of public law at University of 
California-Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law.

Choper said the local police have no responsibility to enforce the 
federal law, though he cautioned that the city might send the wrong 
message to residents if it does not take an appropriate stance on the 
issue.

"If the city is going to encourage people to distribute marijuana, 
they are encouraging people to break the law," Choper said.

While the city is unsure of how to proceed after the Supreme Court 
decision, Choper said the opinion is straightforward.

The federal law banning marijuana supercedes California's Proposition 
215. Under California law, it is still legal to grow marijuana for 
medical reasons, but as Choper said, "the Feds" can prosecute people 
for violating the federal law.

Officials from medical marijuana co-ops, however, said the decision 
is not the final word on the matter.

Jeff Jones, who directs the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, 
said the court created an unenforceable policy.

"It is frustrating that the battle ended with such a narrow 
interpretation and intolerance," he said.

The battle began on May 19, 1998, when a U.S. District Court Judge 
ordered the co-op to stop distributing marijuana. The co-op appealed 
that ruling and won, but the case finally made its way to the 
nation's highest court in March.

The co-op argued that the necessity for medical marijuana warrants an 
exception to the Controlled Substances Act. But as Justice Clarence 
Thomas asserted in the majority opinion, no exception was intended by 
Congress.

"For marijuana, and other drugs that have been classified as 
'schedule I' controlled substances, there is but one express 
exception, and it is available only for government-approved research 
projects," Thomas wrote.

Jones said a movement to reclassify the drug as a less-restricted 
drug is under way, with one bill before Congress.

The cooperative has stopped distributing marijuana and instead 
focuses on teaching patients how to grow their own plants.

Kevin Sabet, president of Citizens for a Drug Free Berkeley, said his 
organization is considering legal options in case the city does not 
enforce the federal law. He said the medical marijuana movement is a 
front for advocates wanting to make the drug legal.

"Patients are just the puppets for those who want to legalize the 
drug," he said, adding that city officials will be unlikely to 
enforce the law as they pursue the votes of those who use marijuana. 
"People are worried about political careers, not terminally ill 
people."
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe