Roger Mentch, a local medical marijuana provider and caregiver, currently faces up to seven years imprisonment for possessing 1 1/2 oz. of marijuana. Come out to the Santa Cruz County Courthouse steps on Monday, May 2 at 8:00am and stand in solidarity with Roger as he faces sentencing. Please demonstrate through your presence that you support honest medical marijuana providers and reject the current politically-movtived oppression of medical marijuana providers in California and the rest of the United States.

Besides Roger Mentch being prosecuted, Santa Cruz's Pacific Cannabis Collective was shutdown in the last month. Since the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana was raided in September 2002, the two most recent actions have effectively cut off the medical marijuana supply in Santa Cruz County. The only option for many medical marijuana patients is to travel an hour and a half or more to the San Francisco Bay Area to a medical marijuana dispensary. For many, this is not an option because of immobility and lack of financial resources. It is also problematic because many Bay Area medical marijuana dispensaries are coming under law enforcement scrutiny and several have recently been shut down. [see Indybay's Drug War page]

See also: Letter to Judge Samuel Stevens Concerning Roger Mentch

Audio: Interview of Roger Mentch on Bathrobespierre's Broadsides (interview is halfway through file) Download the mp3