RULING IN CALIFORNIA FAVORS THE MEDICINAL USE OF MARIJUANA

SAN FRANCISCO, July 17 -- Seriously ill patients with no alternative but
marijuana to alleviate their conditions will now be able to obtain the drug
legally from a group in Oakland, Calif., a federal judge ruled today.

Modifying an order that shut down several marijuana clubs two years ago,
Judge Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court has given the group, the
Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, a green light to distribute marijuana
to patients who meet certain requirements: They must have a serious medical
condition; they will suffer imminent harm without marijuana; and they have
no legal alternative to marijuana for effective treatment.

In his ruling, Judge Breyer said the government had failed to prove why
seriously ill patients should not have legal access the drug.

Supporters of medicinal marijuana use hailed the decision, saying many
patients would benefit.

Specifically they said medicinal marijuana could help curb weight loss in
AIDS patients, alleviate nausea induced by chemotherapy in cancer patients,
treat glaucoma and ease chronic pain associated with multiple sclerosis.

Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland club, called for the federal
government to take the next step and reclassify marijuana as "an accepted
therapeutic plant." Mr. Jones said his club, with about 5,000 registered
members, might reopen as early as this week.

Originally shut down by the Justice Department along with five other clubs,
the Oakland club was the only one to file suit. Judge Breyer's decision is
expected to prompt many of the clubs to reopen, as well as motivate the
opening of new clubs, some advocates said.

California passed Proposition 215, an initiative allowing the medicinal use
of marijuana in 1996, but the measure has been embroiled in legal battles
ever since.

The initiative permits patients, with a doctor's recommendation, to grow
marijuana legally for their own treatment. This conflicts with federal law,
which does not recognize any medicinal properties of marijuana, much less
its legal use.

In his ruling today, Judge Breyer noted that the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, had ordered him to
consider an exemption for patients who faced imminent harm and had no
effective alternative to marijuana, The Associated Press reported.

The judge said that in recent hearings the government had failed to present
new arguments against the medical use of marijuana.

John Entwistle, spokesman for Californians for Compassionate Use, said that
Judge Breyer's decision was a breakthrough and that one day marijuana "will
end up in our pharmacies and grocery stores."

"Once you accept the underlying issue of the medical necessity of
marijuana," Mr. Entwistle said, "it disqualifies the federal argument
against its medicinal use."

A Justice Department spokeswoman said officials were reviewing Judge
Breyer's decision and had no further comment.

"The medicinal properties have already been accepted at local and state
levels," Mr. Jones said. "We're waiting for the federal government to catch
up."

He said his club and others in the state would consult their lawyers to
figure out how best to open their doors.

The original ruling against the clubs as it now stands still prevents the
sale of marijuana to patients who do not meet the criteria, and Mr. Jones
did not know how many of his club's members would qualify.

"We're going to proceed cautiously," he said.