Oakland, Fairfax Cannabis Groups Face U.S. Attorneys

October 06, 1998 - San Francisco Examiner - letters@examiner.com

A federal courtroom was the scene of a showdown Monday between federal prosecutors seeking to shut down cannabis clubs in Oakland and Fairfax, and defense lawyers who argue that doing so would deny the clubs' clients a medical necessity.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said he would take the matter under advisement before ruling whether to authorize federal marshals to close the clubs, or allow a jury trial to determine if the clubs operated lawfully because their customers' medical needs supersede federal drug restrictions.

"Pain vs. government - that is this case. Can the government insist on pain?" queried James Brosnahan, one of a prestigious team of attorneys representing the clubs. "We have put in the air more than enough to create a tryable issue on the matter of (medical) necessity."

But federal prosecutors countered that Congress had considered and rejected the notion that marijuana had acceptable medical value. They also faulted customers of the cannabis clubs for not trying "reasonable legal alternatives" such as applying to become subjects in medicinal marijuana research.

Breyer questioned both sides closely, indicating he believed that the "medical necessity" defense constituted "particularized criteria."

He suggested that perhaps "it can't be done on a blanket basis. . . . It has to be done on a person-by-person basis."

The case stems from the government's motion to declare the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and a similar Fairfax club in contempt of court and close them for violating Breyer's earlier injunction against breaking federal law by distributing cannabis. The debate about marijuana use has grown more contentious since the passage of Proposition 215, which permits seriously ill patients to grow and use marijuana for medicinal purposes such as pain relief so long as they have a doctor's OK. The 1996 initiative put the will of California voters in direct conflict with U.S. drug laws.

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