cannabisnews.com: Newsmaker Of The Year: Valerie and Mike Corral
Newsmaker Of The Year: Valerie and Mike Corral
Posted by CN Staff on December 29, 2002 at 07:45:12 PT
By Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff Writer
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel
Danenport — Sept. 5 was a nightmare for Valerie and Mike Corral. Just before dawn, federal agents stormed their Davenport-area home, ordering them and friend Suzanne Pfeil to the floor.In the hours that followed, about 167 marijuana plants the Corrals say were destined for members of the Wo/men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana would be plucked from the ground and the Corrals would find themselves in a federal jail.
The raid drew national publicity and put Santa Cruz front and center on the media map for two weeks, reigniting the national debate over medical marijuana and whether states have the power to enact laws the fly in the face of laws adopted by the federal government.But the raid was hardly the death knell for the group. As 2003 begins, WAMM and its roughly 240 members continue their efforts, albeit with much less marijuana than before the raid, and now the Corrals are even deputized officers of the city of Santa Cruz.Their roller-coaster ride of 2002 makes the Corrals — and the local medical marijuana movement — the Sentinel’s 2002 County Newsmaker.The couple shares the honor with the Aptos Little League team, which brought attention of a different kind to the county this year. The boys of summer made it to the Little League World Series, and played with an infectious enthusiasm and respect for the game that made county residents proud.While the federal raid brought plenty of attention to WAMM, the Corrals say they would rather be quietly doing the work for which the cooperative was formed, caring for sick people, some of them terminally ill.Twenty-five members have died during the past year, Valerie Corral said."That’s the big news," she said. "That should be the headlines."In typical Santa Cruz style, the county Board of Supervisors and the Santa Cruz City Council passed resolutions condemning the bust. They were joined by elected leaders from U.S. Rep. Sam Farr to state Attorney General Bill Lockyer.The City Council took its support a step further, allowing the group to dispense medical marijuana to about a dozen of its members on the steps of City Hall at an event that was part rally, part protest and part publicity stunt.About 1,000 people crowded the City Hall courtyard, with a helicopter — rumored to be a federal Drug Enforcement Administration chopper — hovering high above, and a media horde clicking and recording every second.To supporters, the couple and the group were doing saint’s work. To the DEA, though, it was just another pot bust, medicinal or not.A DEA spokesman said the agency was simply enforcing federal drug laws in carrying out raids against WAMM and a string of other medical marijuana groups in California. While state law has made provisions for medical use, federal law hasn’t."Anybody who is growing marijuana, distributing marijuana, shouldn’t be surprised if we pay them a visit," DEA spokesman Richard Meyer told the Sentinel in early December, echoing a message repeated often since September. Though the Corrals were already well-known in the medical marijuana world, the raid pushed the couple into the national media spotlight and revived the medical-marijuana debate.The New York Times, CNN, USA Today and a plethora of other national news outlets ate up the story.The Corrals, who were released by the feds after a few hours in custody, still have not been charged. Moreover, rather than defending themselves in court, they have gone on the offensive by suing the federal government to get their pot plants back.The first round of that effort failed earlier this month when U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel denied the request, but that was expected.Getting the plants back is unrealistic and not even the point. The couple’s goal, they say, is to push the medical marijuana issue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.The couple’s odyssey with medical marijuana dates to 1973 when Valerie was involved in a car accident that left her with brain injuries that cause seizures. Years of traditional treatment only put her in a stupor. Then one day Mike read in a medical journal that marijuana could help relieve the seizures she was suffering.She tried it, and within four years was off traditional medicines.That set into motion the creation of WAMM. In the early ’90s, the Corrals were busted by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and state agents. Charges against Valerie were dropped based on a medical-necessity defense. A 1993 raid resulted in no prosecution.But as word spread, like-minded sick people came together to form the cooperative that now works cooperatively with county and city authorities.The Corrals were at the forefront of the medical marijuana movement in the mid-1990s, helping to craft the state ballot measure approved by voters in 1996 that allows patients with a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana."We’ve worked diligently to change the law," Valerie Corral said. "To have the federal government uproot that is sorrowful.""It’s so hard to shake that old image," she said. "It’s not people just laying around sitting on a couch. They actually use marijuana so they can just get off the couch."Complete Title: Newsmaker Of The Year Valerie and Mike Corral: Raid Reinvigorates WAMM, Medical Pot DebateSource: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff WriterPublished: December 29, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/News Articles -- WAMM Raidhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/valc.htmPictures From WAMM Protesthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/eventpics.htmNewsmaker Of The Year: Christopher Krohn http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15073.shtmlWhy I'm Fighting Federal Drug Laws From City Hallhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14195.shtmlMedicinal Pot Issue is About The Sick, Dyinghttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14193.shtmlSanta Cruz Defies U.S. On Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14153.shtml
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 21:29:47 PT
Off Topic: As We Prepare for War With Iraq
No dangers? Just like Agent Orange wasn't dangerous. A few paragraphs and link to the article.The Fallout of War Iraqi Bomb Debris Fell on Jim Stutts in '91. In Many Ways, He's Being Pelted Still.
By Richard Leiby, Washington Post Staff WriterMonday, December 30, 2002; Page C01 BEREA, Ky.The doctor sits at home, filling the hours with television, writing himself reminders that look like prescriptions. "From the desk of Dr. James Stutts," says his notepad, itself a reminder that he practiced medicine until, one day, he knew it was no longer safe. He could not remember faces and names.Before he retired, Lt. Col. Stutts commanded medical staffs on military bases. He used to helicopter into combat zones to treat the wounded. He still keeps his Army uniform pressed and ready, as if someday he might return to duty.He is 54 and disabled by dementia. He is a casualty of the Persian Gulf War -- one of the tens of thousands of men and women who left feeling healthy but fell sick after coming home. They filed disability claims at a rate far higher than veterans of other wars.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52223-2002Dec29.html
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 19:16:22 PT
Justgetnby
You're right. I read an article the other day about Susan McDougal. Here is the link and a few paragraphs that I found interesting.Small Cell, Long Journey Whitewater's Susan McDougal, Who Went to Jail for Her Silence, Speaks Out in a New Book What changed her life, though, was not the treatment she received, but the women she met. "When I went to jail, my whole plan was, I was going to stay in my corner, read the great books of the world, not talk to anybody," she says.That changed the day some of the women came to her and asked her to teach them to read -- which she did, using the Bible, the only book she was allowed. After the initial contact, she found herself increasingly drawn into the other women's lives. They played a game in jail called "How Did I Get Here?" McDougal listened to the stories, transfixed -- and transformed.McDougal's public speaking engagements began at the invitation of political or legal groups, but she found herself talking not of Whitewater but of these women she had met, of their stories. And so she shifted course, and now gives speeches to raise money for organizations dedicated to helping incarcerated women. She hopes to raise money for aftercare programs, to help these women start new lives after their release. Mostly, though, she wants people to understand them, to understand what life circumstances led them to places of such callousness, or such despair.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38402-2002Dec25.html
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Comment #29 posted by Justgetnby on December 29, 2002 at 18:35:36 PT:
FOM
FOM
You must remember that this is a media event, and truth plays no part in the media today. This is a maximum security prison, which houses the most potentialy/violent prisoners in the entire prison population. This fact totaly skews any statistics as applied the the general prison population.
Too loosely quote Mark Twain
" There's lie's, Damn lies, and statistic's" PS: Mark Twain is the Redneck Socrates
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 17:26:28 PT
Just A Comment
Just A Comment
Last night we watched this special on Arts and Entertainment. It was an interesting program and they had some seriously dangerous women in the prison but almost all of the women were hispanic or black. I think they said they had 3,500 inmates but I'm not sure so that is my best guess but what bothered me was they said half of the woman were in for drug related crimes. HALF! Behind Closed Doors with Joan Lunden Women's Prison Joan Lunden, the longtime co-host of "Good Morning America", visits the world's largest maximum-security prison for women, Central California's Women's Facility, and talks with an inmate convicted of torturing and murdering another woman by injecting her with battery acid. TV PG http://www.aande.com/perl/tv/tvlistings.pl?channel=aetv&get=today&tz=EST
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Comment #27 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 16:52:41 PT
It's Gone Full Circle
That was an incredibly biased and racist article that is very misleading, and I believe it will cause more violence against hispanic people.Maybe they're catching more hispanics because of racial profiling and their reputation for looking the other way if the people are the right color?
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Comment #26 posted by p4me on December 29, 2002 at 16:37:25 PT
The Charlotte Observer uses the M word
I live about 50 miles from the square in Charlotte, so todays article may have more significance to me than most. Here is the link to the AP release to the article titled, " Hispanics being used increasingly to transport drugs."- http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/4835822.htm1
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 15:06:35 PT
The GCW
I really like Sally Fields too. Yes she was the Flying Nun. She did Places In The Heart, Not With My Daughter, Forrest Gump, Mrs. Doubtfire and she did a Gidget series a million years ago. I'm sure there are many more movies but I remembered these. She would be very good. http://www.celebritystorm.com/actresses/pics/SallyFields/
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Comment #24 posted by The GCW on December 29, 2002 at 14:54:44 PT
Sally Fields
I don't have TV, but I think her name is Sally Fields, who did ... and ... that I can't remember, but she left an impression of compassion where ever I saw her.She goes beyond cute and sexy, to credible.Wasn't she the flying nun?
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Comment #23 posted by p4me on December 29, 2002 at 13:18:17 PT
Stuff
I want to present an interesting thread from freerepublic.com on the 42 inch HDTV plasma tv that Gateway is selling for $3000. There is an education in this thread and it shows the importance people put on new technology, especially the big thing now, DVD burners. A Sony DVD burner that does both popular formats is now about $350. Personally, I hope that they can resolve the variety of technical standards surrounding HDTV before I would want a DVD burner and that my next burner would be an HDTV burner- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/813468/postsI kind of like free republic because it is so active. It is a good place to sift sand and find a little gold. If you read the above thread you will see what I mean. I would also like to say that the predominate view of this conservative website is against the WOD. The big issue with conservatives is the government spending and the erosion of the constitution and the corruption of government. There was an article that went up yesterday talking about how Freepers saved the republic in the last election because they bombarded the CNN polls on telling Gore he should give up the fight in the Florida controversery and CNN waived the numbers in front of the couch potatoes 24 hours a day that eroded public support for Gore to go on. It talked of the Freeper beliefs in rolling back decades of government growth and the cause of fighting corruption and advancing the conservative cause, without really saying what the conservative cause entails of course. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/813571/postsHere are two WOD threads that went up yesterday-Police seize 1.6 tons of narcotics in Golestan province (Iran) - Confiscate cash and vehicles -
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/813596/postsPolice fight spread of hard drugs -fueled by huge profit margins, 6 fold increase in drug deaths - http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/813600/postsI put up the thread on Dan Burton from Freerepublic when it had about 450 comments. There is a WOD section and it includes both postings of the Dan Burton comment. The second thread had 30 comments- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/813467/posts
The first thread had comments The first thread had 509 comments- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/808036/posts Once articles have made their run they may be archived under what they call a bump list. The WOD bumplist can be found here- http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/involved?group=124Show me the movie.1
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Comment #22 posted by AlvinCool on December 29, 2002 at 12:53:01 PT
I Nominate
Well I thought about it and if I could I'd bring back an actress from the 80's for the part. I nominate Phoebe Cates. Cute and stands her ground. She would be older and wiser now. Could be a comeback!Hey it worked for Aerosmith!!
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Comment #21 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 29, 2002 at 12:23:25 PT
Senator wising up
Dan Burton may finally be starting to get the right idea:
http://www.thememoryhole.org/drugs/burton-drugs.htm
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Comment #20 posted by knox42897 on December 29, 2002 at 12:14:06 PT:
Casting call
I nominate Drew Barrymore for the part of Deputy Valerie Corral. Drew would have to go brunett, but I bet you she would be interested in the part. I'm a little biased as I love Drew Barrymore.I had the Honor of meeting Valerie Corral at the Symposium on pain managent. She is an AWESOME warrior, we are definetly from the same Cannabis tribe. I got to talk to her after the confrence. I nominate Deputy Valarie Corral as the Humanitarian Newsmaker of The Year.
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Comment #19 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 12:02:31 PT
Susan Sarandon Would Be Perfect
If it wasn't for dreams nothing would ever have been invented, nothing would have been created and nobody would have been successful at anything.In the words of Aerosmith: Dream On!
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 11:06:00 PT
Trivia Sort Of
Who could possibly play Valerie Corral in a movie? I can't think of anyone off the top of my head. A documentary type movie they could of course be themselves. Maybe Susan Sarandon. I'm just dreaming I know.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 11:02:42 PT
AlvinCool
If you have the ability and desire I say go for it!Thanks BGreen!
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 10:43:50 PT
New World Order
As much as I don't like thinking this way that is what is happening. If a movie was made about WAMM it would cause such a stir with the Establishment that it wouldn't be allowed to be aired. Maybe on an Independent Movie Channel but not here and not now on regular movie channels since 9-11. I'm glad I don't live in a big city or I would be losing it.
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Comment #15 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 10:43:14 PT
Everybody Should Watch This Video On Pot-TV
A documentary produced by the Berkley Patients Group (BPG) in California, telling the story of their members struggle against the Federal authorities to receive their State approved medicine.I don't know how any human could see these patients and not be moved.
For Medical Use Only
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Comment #14 posted by AlvinCool on December 29, 2002 at 10:37:21 PT
Movies
Actually, FOM, I've been considering making at least one movie myself. Truth is a tough thing. The networks don't want you to know that making a distributing a movie doesn't require them any longer. Copies can be made through all file sharing networks and I'm sure PotTV would gladly air it. The catch is you can't make money off it, but who really wants to? Sure it would be easier on a national network but...What led up to the WAMM raid, the raid itself, and what has happened afterward would be a #1 choice. As for cost, make it similar to Jesus Christ Superstar but not a musical. Simple and low budget it would sweep the net. I have no idea if I'm correct but it could probably be made with inexpensive digital camcorders.
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Comment #13 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 10:33:14 PT
HBO and Showtime Are Cowards
The WAMM story is exactly the kind of thing they would have jumped on in the past. What's happened? I guess when you hit a certain level of success you can get away with abandoning your past and just show "Porky's" for the umpteen millionth time.
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Comment #12 posted by Truth on December 29, 2002 at 10:29:21 PT
humanitarians
They should have named Mike and Valorie humanitarians of the year rather than news story of the year.
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Comment #11 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 10:24:26 PT
Doctors and Malpractice Insurance
It's been in the news recently how many doctors are giving up their practices or at least refusing to do surgery because of the skyrocketing costs of malpractice insurance.The doctors blame the trial lawyers, and the trial lawyers say they're just protecting the citizens from bad doctors.This brings up an interesting question. How is this going to affect doctors who recommend medical cannabis? I fear that the gov't will forbid any doctor who recommends cannabis from even getting malpractice insurance.I can't afford to go to the doctor as it is, and I certainly couldn't afford hundreds of dollars worth of prescription chemicals a month.The right to self-medication with cannabis is a right that I feel is inherent in a free society. What good is a controlled medical establishment when doctors can't even afford to be doctors? Who will care about and for the sick except people like the Corrals?Our legal and medical establishments are sicker than many of the Corral's patients, and sadly most people don't give a damn about either.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 10:23:58 PT
p4me
A movie. What a great idea. What a movie it would be. The problem is they wouldn't allow it on the Networks. Only these unreal anti drug commercials can air it seems. That is so wrong. In my book a movie about WAMM would be a Hallmark Special Movie. I know I'm just dreaming.
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Comment #9 posted by p4me on December 29, 2002 at 10:11:28 PT
Give'm hell Deputy Corral
Twenty-five members have died during the past year, Valerie Corral saidI could say prohibition kills or prohibition is murders. It seems to apply here. I really want to talk about the exact thing she said. The deaths of these 25 people are the story. Some journalist should have detailed the deaths of these people and compiled it in to a story. Is seems like there would be some obituary at the WAMM website or it seems that their deaths would have been documented in the newspaper. It would have given some contribution to change. I think of a movie seen where a mother takes her daughter to a graveyard and there is a row of tombstones engraved with parting words from these people that saw their death coming. I could even see fiction bringing us a scene with urns put up on a mantle at a community Farmacy every anniversary of the death of these people pushed to a early death by prohibition and the schedule One Lie.Prohibition kills. There, I said it.1
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Comment #8 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 10:01:40 PT
I'm Done. Please Don't Be Offended
I thought it was great how you had just mentioned the other day about how you thought this was the "stand-out" news story of the year. It's hard to believe that good comes out of tragedy, but the love and goodness of the Corrals can't be ignored.We're in this together.Now, how good are you at predicting lottery numbers? LOL
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 09:52:39 PT
knox42897
I don't want to talk about this. This wonderful article is getting neglected. I might remove the posts out of respect for how I feel about this article.
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Comment #6 posted by knox42897 on December 29, 2002 at 09:45:38 PT:
Proof Read and medicate after posting
Sorry guys, I just read my post, I hope you guys can make sense out of it. I realize now, I must medicate after I post, not before or during posting.
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Comment #5 posted by knox42897 on December 29, 2002 at 09:41:04 PT:
Pardoned
I would like to express my support for my fellow comrades, "The missing in action ones". I share the share feeling with BGreen. Frankly, I didn't want to comment or post on the banned comrades, but I too feel they should be pardoned.To be honest with you FOM, I was even contacted by one of the banned comrades. I told him, to just register as another user. He said no that it was a matter of principle. I told him the only principle in war is to WIN.I have had correspondence with the "banned" or covert defenders. Honestly they are cool people and deserving of a second chance. They email me all the time, "I can't belive you haven't been banned, you use the fuck word in the post."To that I would like to thank, FoM, for not banning me for using that word. But it would also set an example for the "banned covert warriors". While I do use the fuck word, I use it sparingly and only when I feel it emphazises a point. And to be completely honest, I'm going to try and be more professional since reports are read our stuff.I got an idea, how about a pardon committee, where the "offenders" crimes of war are to he hear given a fair shake, and if appropiate, Pardoned.So let's get back to fucking WAR! DEA go away, medical marijuana-Its the Law!!!!
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Comment #4 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 09:31:51 PT
I Know You Don't Want To Talk About It
but please take my words to heart because that's where my words came from. I cried the whole time I was reading my letter to my wife.A lot of us truly care about you and this site.Thanks for the New Years wishes and the same to you and your husband.Bud
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 09:18:43 PT
BGreen
I really don't want to talk about this. It is up to people if they want to post or not. Only a couple people have been banned and others have decided not to comment and that is really ok with me but this web site is still being read and it is a news site. That was always my purpose for CNews. To be able to talk about the news articles was why we have a comment secion. Ron Bennett's Cannabis.com has wonderful message boards to talk about almost any topic. I have a link to his site on the right hand corner of CannabisNews and the message boards are easy to find. I wish you and your wife a Happy New year!
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Comment #2 posted by BGreen on December 29, 2002 at 09:06:52 PT
To FoM, With Love
I'd like to say something, make it my New Years wish if you'd like, and since it's a sensitive topic please don't get angry or dismiss me with "I don't want to talk about it." I have no other method of contacting you, so if you wish you can delete this post as soon as you read it.As a long-time contributor to cannabisnews.com I've been able to assemble a pretty substantial knowledge of some of your history, much more than a "newbie" or an occasional lurker. I'm aware of the extreme suffering you went through with the death of your son and it brings me to tears when I think about it. I knew people were pushing you too far in the recent turmoil here, and my wife and I have been sincerely concerned about you. My wife has never even touched a computer but she frequently asks "How's FoM doing?"My problem is that I'm put into the same situation as having some friends get a divorce. No matter how much the couple has grown to resent each other, I'm still friends with both of them. It's happened way too often in my twenty years of marriage.I'm not trying to start a fight or make you uncomfortable, but I've got a favor to ask.I know many of the posters who've been banned are pretty much like me. Older, set in our ways, and frankly, just a bunch of stubborn old farts. Many of us are medical cannabis patients and have to live through not only the pain of the injury or disease, but also through twenty or more years of running from the law just to be allowed to get some relief from this God-given plant without losing our houses, families and freedom.My wife is the greatest gift God ever gave me, and the stress I feel about her willingly putting her life at stake for ME to be able to use my cannabis is sometimes overwhelming. She doesn't even use cannabis, but she could be locked in prison for many years just for loving me.I know many others are in the same predicament.My wish is that sometime, at your say so, that we could pardon the cannabisnew.com offenders and give those who are willing to play the game by your rules another chance. Not to argue with you and try to change your policies (you've already shown you're not going to back down,) but just to join back in with us. If anybody chooses to accept your rules and join back in, they should know that any resemblance to the fiasco in question would mean they're gone for good.I care for you, FoM, but I miss my friends that have left. Could you at least think about this? Forgiveness is a hard thing to give, but if somebody asks for your forgiveness, it can be a spiritual and emotional healing for all sides involved.Your friend,Bud Green
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 29, 2002 at 07:54:04 PT
My Favorite Newsmaker of the Year Too!
What happened at WAMM was my favorite series of news articles for the whole year. When they raided WAMM they struck at the heart of the medical marijuana movement and it has left a lasting impression on how I feel about our current system of justice.
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