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SAN FRANCISCO – Tired of years of taunts and disruptions, local AIDS professionals and activists announced they’ve decided to fight back against the activities of a radical AIDS group by boycotting its $1.6 million-a-year pot club. 

The San Francisco chapter of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power is know for its confrontational behavior and its claims that HIV does not cause AIDS, that those who think so are out to demonize gay sex, and that AIDS drugs are poison. 

The city’s director of public health and the AIDS group Project Inform also are pursuing criminal charges against ACT UP/SF members for allegedly raucous behavior at two public meetings. 

The groups proclaimed their intentions at a Thursday news conference and in full-page ads in two gay publications. 

ACT UP/SF’s recent announcement that “AIDS is over” has public health officials worried because new HIV infections among young gay men appear on the rise. 

ACT UP/SF members acknowledge their confrontational behavior, but say they are welcomed in the community. 

Fighting the group will be an uphill battle, opponents say. The district attorney’s office filed misdemeanor battery charges against ACT UP/SF members, but District Attorney Terence Hallinan has made it clear he supports the city’s pot clubs and isn’t planning a crackdown. 

The medical marijuana outlet run by ACT UP/SF has become a $100,000 a month business, with the profits going to finance the group’s political activities.