LUNGREN CLAIMS RULING CLOSES S.F. POT CLUB

State Attorney General Dan Lungren declared yesterday that the San
Francisco Cannabis Cultivators Co-op is out of business following a San
Francisco judge's ruling that prevents the marijuana outlet from
distributing its goods.

But club founder Dennis Peron insisted that yesterday's ruling by Superior
Court Judge David Garcia allowed the club to stay open.

"The club can go on," Peron said.

The confusion came a day after the California Supreme Court announced that
it would stay out of the politically charged controversy over the legality
of cannabis clubs. On Wednesday, the high court left intact a December
state Court of Appeals decision that cannabis clubs cannot sell pot because
they do not qualify as primary caregivers.

Following the Supreme Court's action, Garcia issued his order prohibiting
the San Francisco pot emporium from ``selling, furnishing, storing,
administering or giving away marijuana.''

Lungren said Garcia's decision reinforces the earlier appeals court ruling
preventing cannabis clubs from peddling marijuana under Proposition 215,
the voter-approved measure that allows marijuana to be provided for
medicinal use.

Lungren said the law allowed only a doctor, a friend, loved one or other
primary caregiver to provide marijuana to patients.

But Peron noted that the judge specifically allowed Peron to distribute
marijuana if he is a "bona fide primary caregiver" as required by state
law.

Peron said his club qualifies as primary caregiver for the sick and dying
who enter his establishment because it provides continued care. He also
maintained that the outlet stopped selling the medical weed when it
reopened in January and has merely received reimbursement for providing
marijuana, as allowed by law.

After the high court action, Matt Ross, a spokesman for the attorney
general, said Lungren's office planned to leave it up to local prosecutors
and sheriffs to decide what actions they should take with regard to pot
clubs.

"We told them that they should take what action they deem appropriate,"
Ross said.

But Ross said there was no doubt as to the fate of the San Francisco club,
which is the largest in the nation, with 9,000 members. "It closes the
club," Ross said.

Peron and his attorney hotly disputed that interpretation, virtually
ensuring that the two sides are in for more battles in court.

"This (Garcia's) decision does not say that clubs are illegal, period,"
said Peron's attorney, J. David Nick. "It says you must have a consistent
relationship and an individual relationship with the patient."

)1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A24