Pubdate: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 Source: Sacramento Bee (CA) Copyright: 1998 The Sacramento Bee Contact: http://www.sacbee.com/about_us/sacbeemail.html Website: http://www.sacbee.com/ Author: Jordan Lite, Associated Press Writer POT CLUB CLOSURE CAUSES CITY COUNCIL TO DECLARE STATE OF EMERGENCY OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- City officials, in a symbolic nod to California voters, declared a public health emergency Tuesday night following a court-ordered shutdown of one of the state's largest medical marijuana clubs. The 5-4 vote, believed to be the first of its kind, allows City Council members to move quickly should they choose to develop alternative ways to sell marijuana to about 2,200 patients who can no longer get the drug at the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative. "We're definitely making history," said Jeff Jones, executive director of the club. "I feel somewhat vindicated from the court's decision." City officials in San Francisco and Berkeley in the past have declared medical emergencies to allow the distribution of intravenous needles to drug users to curb the spread of HIV. But no other city has passed such a measure to allow use of marijuana for medical reasons. It is not immediately clear what impact the gesture would have. City Council members said they would be wary of getting involved in the distribution of marijuana. When U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer issued an injunction in May barring six Northern California clubs from distributing marijuana, Oakland city officials responded by designating marijuana club officials as city agents, invoking a federal law that protects state and local officers from liability while enforcing drug laws. But Breyer said the club was violating the drug law, not enforcing it. A possible alternative would be to designate city property for the harvesting of marijuana by patients with doctor's recommendations, Jones said. He said a less likely possibility would be for the city to hire people to distribute the drug. Proposition 215 allowed patients and their caregivers to possess and grow marijuana without prosecution under California law, if recommended by a doctor to relieve the pain from AIDS or cancer treatment, glaucoma or other conditions. The club closed Monday after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, rejected its request to remain open during an appeal of a federal judge's ruling finding the club in contempt of court for continuing to distribute marijuana in violation of federal law. - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry