Oakland Council Declares Marijuana Health Crisis

October 21, 1998 - San Francisco Chronicle - chronletters@sfgate.com

The day after the state's largest remaining medical marijuana club was shut down, the Oakland City Council threw its support behind the dispensary, but exactly what the city can do to help remains unclear.

Last night, by a 5-to-4 vote, the council declared that Monday's closure of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative by the federal government creates a public health emergency for the city by forcing hundreds of ill and dying people to go without the pain-easing drug or be forced to buy from street dealers.

The council's action places Oakland at the forefront of the medical marijuana issue. It is the first city to use the emergency declaration, which is usually reserved for cases of disaster or extreme peril.

Typically, emergency declarations enable a city to seek state and federal aid but, in this case, the council is not looking for such assistance; it is only seeking to draw attention to the issue.

``What we do tonight will send a powerful message, both here and throughout the state and the world,'' said Councilman Nate Miley, who led the call for the declaration.

But council members in opposition said that although they support medicinal marijuana use, they did not believe the club's closure merited an emergency status.

And they worried whether the action would open the city up to federal prosecution.

``To help a few I cannot expose the rest of the city to the impact of what we do tonight,'' Ignacio De La Fuente said.

The council's action was mostly symbolic -- it has no effect on a federal judge's order that resulted in the club's doors being padlocked yesterday morning.

But Robert Raich, an attorney for the cooperative that claimed 2,200 members, said the council's action ``underscores the seriousness of the situation'' and helps lays the groundwork for any future city moves to revive the club -- or some form of it.

The council could have the city itself set up a dispensary program--an idea that has been floated in the past by Councilman Nate Miley and one that was brought up again during last night's council meeting.

That idea was not up for discussion last night, but Miley promised to have it reviewed by the Public Safety Committee, which he chairs. Some of his colleagues have already voiced loud opposition to his idea which they say could open the city up to civil and criminal liability.

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