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| Santa Cruz Marijuana Farmer Sue Federal Government |
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Posted by CN Staff on September 24, 2002 at 17:38:37 PT By John Woolfolk, Mercury News Source: San Jose Mercury News 
A Santa Cruz County couple whose medicinal marijuana farm was raided by federal drug agents earlier this month have filed suit in federal court to get back their confiscated cannabis, launching a case that could challenge the federal government's right to regulate medical marijuana.Michael and Valerie Corral, who run the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, argued the Sept. 5 seizure of 167 marijuana plants from the farm near Davenport was unconstitutional and needlessly brutal. A spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said the agency's raid was legal and reasonable and that it had no intention of returning the marijuana. ``In the United States, marijuana is an illegal substance,'' said DEA Special Agent Richard Meyer. ``Our job is to take it off the streets. We would be failing our duty if we were to return a dangerous drug into the community.'' U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel will consider the case at 9 a.m. Nov. 4. WAMM grows and distributes marijuana free of charge to some 230 sufferers of AIDS, cancer and neurological diseases such as epilepsy who have written approval from their doctors. It has operated under an agreement with the Santa Cruz County sheriff's office since Californians in 1996 approved Proposition 215 to legalize medicinal marijuana. The Corrals argue the raid was unconstitutional on a number of grounds, including a claim that it exceeded the federal government's authority under the Tenth Amendment to regulate interstate commerce because the organization's marijuana was grown and used locally. ``The medicinal marijuana that was seized is not contraband, because its cultivation and use was authorized by state law and federal authorities demonstrated no perceptible effect on interstate commerce from its cultivation and use,'' the suit said. The Corral's attorney, Ben Rice, said the case could become a national test of the interstate-law challenge to federal drug policy. Seven other states have adopted medicinal marijuana laws similar to California's. The suit also alleges the raid violated Fourth Amendment constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures because the Corrals have not been charged with any crime, the search warrant was overly broad and officers used unnecessary force. Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA) Related Articles & Web Site: Wo/Men’s Seeks Return of Pot The Thrashing of a Dying Dinosaur's Tail Why I'm Fighting Federal Drug Laws From City Hall Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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