cannabisnews.com: Santa Cruz Joint Effort Hands Out Medical Pot 





Santa Cruz Joint Effort Hands Out Medical Pot 
Posted by CN Staff on September 18, 2002 at 08:15:34 PT
By Maria Alicia Gaura, Chronicle Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
Openly defying the federal government, a host of Santa Cruz officials stood witness Tuesday as medical marijuana advocates distributed cannabis products in the courtyard of Santa Cruz City Hall. As street musicians performed in the background and an unmarked green helicopter hovered persistently overhead, the mayor and five of six City Council members, three former mayors and the city's representative on the county Board of Supervisors joined with an estimated 1,000 citizens to show support for medical pot. 
The crowd, alert for signs that federal agents might stage a raid, shook their fists at the helicopter and chanted, "DEA, go away!" Rich Meyer, spokesman for the federal anti-drug agency, wouldn't say whether the helicopter belonged to the DEA or whether plainclothes agents were in the crowd. The rally was in response to the Sept. 5 bust of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, a Santa Cruz-based collective of more than 230 members whose doctors have recommended they use marijuana to relieve symptoms of illness. DEA agents chopped down the group's 2002 marijuana crop and arrested founders Valerie and Mike Corral. The Corrals were released that day and have not been charged with any crime. More than a dozen seriously ill patients came forward at Tuesday's rally -- in wheelchairs, with canes or on emaciated legs -- to stock up on cannabis tincture, cannabis-laced milk, buds for smoking and bright green marijuana muffins. Despite fears of a bust, no arrests were made. "I think the federal government will find that going after Mike and Valerie was a big mistake," said Dale Gieringer, spokesman for NORML, the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws. "This case could be their Waterloo." DEA spokesman Meyer was dismissive of such claims and hinted that city officials may be criminally liable for their stance. "We take violations of the law seriously, and today the federal drug laws were broken in Santa Cruz, in the presence of the mayor and City Council," Meyer said. "The message I got was that officials there have not upheld their oath to uphold and enforce the law." A SHARP BACKLASH The DEA raid infuriated local officials, who had worked with WAMM for years to create a verification and distribution system that would conform to California's Proposition 215 -- which legalized medical marijuana use -- and prevent ailing people from being forced to rely on black-market marijuana. WAMM's members grow their own organic pot for distribution within the group. The collective has operated openly in Santa Cruz since 1996, when Proposition 215 passed. The federal government has always asserted that marijuana use for any reason is illegal, however, and has recently raided a string of medical marijuana clubs across the state. But the WAMM raid provoked a sharp backlash. Even state Attorney General Bill Lockyer has challenged the federal government's authority in the case. The Corrals' legal representatives, led by Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen, hope the facts in WAMM's case will allow for a successful challenge of federal authority. Since the U.S. attorney seems reluctant to file criminal charges, Uelmen plans to sue the DEA, demanding return of seized property and a reassessment of the law. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/09/18/MN242751.DTL Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Maria Alicia Gaura, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, September 18, 2002 Copyright: 2002 San Francisco Chronicle - Page A - 1 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/CaNORMLhttp://www.canorml.org/Pictures From WAMM Protesthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/eventpics.htmWorld Watches Pot Handouthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14154.shtmlSanta Cruz Defies U.S. On Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14153.shtmlMedical Marijuana Backed in Santa Cruz http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14152.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by malleus on September 18, 2002 at 08:36:51 PT
WHOSE law, mister?
"We take violations of the law seriously, and today the federal drug laws were broken in Santa Cruz, in the presence of the mayor and City Council," Meyer said. "The message I got was that officials there have not upheld their oath to uphold and enforce the law." Whose law are we talking about here? Fed law? They are city council, accountable only for upholding city statutes and California laws...which they most assuredly have upheld, which is why the handout. They are not fed agents charged with upholding fed law.So, who's charged with what? The DEA didn't show their faces, though they could have. They didn't arrest any patients as they are legally required to by federal law. If fed agents were in the crowd, and did not arrest, then who is being derelict in their duty? The city council people, who have no fed responsibilities, or the fed agents who are supposed to make arrests, who did not act?Jeez, these feds will never get it. Not until they spend time behind bars.
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