cannabisnews.com: DEA's War on The Sick DEA's War on The Sick Posted by CN Staff on September 09, 2002 at 09:06:18 PT Orange County Register Editorial Source: Orange County Register Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchison has said that his agency's activities against medical marijuana use in California will not be directed against individual patients but against traffickers and distributors. The DEA raid last Thursday on the WAMM cooperative growing project in Santa Cruz - as well as other cases in recent weeks - exposes this claim as hollow. It looks as if the DEA, frustrated that California law allows people with recommendations from physicians to use marijuana medicinally, is conducting a concerted and frankly cruel campaign against sick people. The Santa Cruz operation was run by Valerie and Michael Corral, two long-time activists who helped to write Prop. 215, the law voters approved in 1996 to authorize medical use of marijuana. Their plot of about 100 plants was tended cooperatively with patients, most of them with terminal illnesses. They worked closely with local law enforcement agencies, which approved and supported the organization. The cooperative included hospice-like counseling and group therapy programs. It was probably the "cleanest" of all operations in California. All members were certified patients, most were terminal, no money changed hands, and the marijuana was exclusively for the use of patients who knew one another. Yet the DEA raided this eminently ethical and compassionate operation, carting Valerie and Michael Corral off in handcuffs and handcuffing other patients, including a paraplegic. It is an unwarranted and extreme operation against sick people. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=1742Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)Published: September 9, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Orange County RegisterContact: letters ocregister.comWebsite: http://www.ocregister.com/Related Articles & Web Site:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Enforcement or Harassment?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14047.shtmlAgents Seize Couple, Plantshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14037.shtmlThe DEA in Chains: Bound by a Patient in a Chairhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14036.shtmlDEA Raid Sparks Medical Marijuana Protests http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14023.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by 2Spooky on September 09, 2002 at 13:00:22 PT The DEA sucks Boy, they really shot themselves in the foot this time.Too bad we aren't getting much press on the Senate report in Canada as the Shrub tries to strong-arm Canada into helping with his warmongering. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 09, 2002 at 11:08:39 PT Thanks p4me I appreciate it! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by p4me on September 09, 2002 at 11:06:38 PT The rest of the story There were three paragraphs snipped. They follow:Lately the DEA, which used to view any "grow" of fewer than 1,000 plants to be small potatoes unworthy of federal attention, seems to have been targeting small-scale medical marijuana patient projects.In Butte County the DEA destroyed Diane Monson's six plants after the local DA pleaded to let her alone. In Sonoma County it raided Alan MacFarlane, who had been acquitted by a local jury under state law for planting a 128-plant, 10-patient cooperative garden.To be sure, federal law still prohibits marijuana. Such cruel raids suggest that a law that can be used to terrorize sick people is in need of reconsideration.--------------------1,2 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment