Pubdate: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 Source: Contra Costa Times (CA) Contact: http://www.hotcoco.com/index.htm Author: Michelle Locke OAKLAND DESIGNATES POT CLUB STAFF AS CITY AGENTS OAKLAND -- City officials leaped to the forefront of the medical marijuana movement Thursday, designating the staff of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative as city agents. The move, designed to shield them from criminal prosecution, is believed to make Oakland the first city in the nation to have an official program that distributes medical marijuana. "We're out on the frontier," City Councilman Nate Miley said at a City Hall news conference where he handed over a letter giving the staff authority to act as representatives of the city. Miley said the council was compelled to act for humanitarian reasons. "Today, Oakland has shown the way. I think this is an example that will be widely emulated in California," said Gerald Uelman, an attorney working with the club who also served as a member of the O.J. Simpson defense "dream team." Thursday's ceremony stems from an ordinance passed earlier this summer by the city council. The council has also approved a policy allowing medical marijuana users to have 1BD pounds of cannabis, which they view as a three-month supply of about 10 cigarettes a day. State guidelines figure 1 ounce equals a 30-day supply. Robert Raich, an attorney for the club, said designating staff as city agents will protect them under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, which gives immunity from federal and criminal liability to agents enforcing an ordinance relating to controlled substances. A call to the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco was referred to a spokesman in Washington, D.C., who did not immediately return a telephone call to The Associated Press. Federal prosecutors are moving to shut down the Oakland club, along with several others which sprang up after voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996. The initiative allowed patients with cancer, AIDS and other conditions that might be helped by marijuana to obtain the drug under California law with a doctor's recommendation. But a federal judge later ruled it did not and could not override the federal law against distributing marijuana. Raich said he will file a motion Friday seeking to have federal charges against the club dismissed. A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31. Oakland has espoused a tough anti-drug program that includes seizing vehicles allegedly used in the buying or selling of drugs. Miley said there's no contradiction, because the medical marijuana program is being administered strictly for legitimate health reasons. "We will be very vigorous when it comes to law enforcement, but we will be very strong when it comes to compassion," he said. The Oakland ordinance exempts the city from liability arising as a result of activities conducted by the club, which is required to carry its own insurance and obey all city laws. Which means that, like every workplace in Oakland, the cannabis club is a smoke-free environment. - --- Checked-by: "Rolf Ernst"