3:00pm - Tuesday September 17, 2002

"Citizenship Day"

The energy radiating from the Santa Cruz City Hall could be felt from far away. Hundreds of people came together to express their support for the medicinal use of cannabis and the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) in particular. Santa Cruz residents, including physicians, politicians, and caregivers, addressed today's crowd in strong support of WAMM and the rights of California voters who passed the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

There will be a rally in Sacramento on September 23 in support of the medicinal use of cannabis.

For more information on September 23, please visit:

Americans for Safe Access

www.safeaccessnow.org

Rise Up for Medical Marijuana!

Come to Sacramento - Monday, September 23
Demand Bush Pardon Bryan Epis & End War on all MMJ Patients

All medical marijuana patients, supporters, organizers, and activists in California are needed for what is shaping up to be a major medical marijuana mobilization to Sacramento on the 23rd!

Starting with a press conference and rally outside the Epis sentencing hearing at the Federal Building, 501 I st. at 9 am, moving to a demo at the south side of the Capitol at noon, and later a civil disobedience action somewhere, there is a watershed event in the works for MMJ! ASA, AAMC, AMMA, CANORML, WAMM, MMPU and others are co-sponsoring, and we are looking for every MMJ & drug policy organization in CA to endorse.

Since the WAMM raid, more people from all over the state are mobilizing for Sacramento, and buses are coming from Santa Cruz, LA, San Diego, Orange County, Humboldt and the Bay Area. Our target is to bring at least 100 people from every MMJ hub in California. We are trying to arrange housing for those from afar who need it.

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News Alerts:

Valerie and Mike Corral were arrested by the DEA on Sept 5th, 2002 and all the plants were ripped out weeks before harvesting them for the ill.
www.wamm.org/newsalert.htm

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer Calls for Meeting with Federal Authorities About Unprecedented Medical Marijuana Raids
caag.state.ca.us/newsalerts/2002/02-103.htm

Santa Cruz County supervisors unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday condemning the federal governmens raid of the Wo/Mes Alliance for Medical Marijuana garden.
www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2002/September/11/local/stories/09local.htm

Read the DEA's war on the sick Orange County Register editorial.
www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do

Pictures from the Sept. 5th raid by Jean Hanamoto. Before and After photos of the garden , More photos.
www.marijuana-art.com/ARaid2.html
www.kusp.org/wamm/

You Can Help:

We need financial help to cover the legal battle. Click here to donate money.
www.wamm.org/donations.htm

California residents are urged to send a pre-written letter to their California Senators and Representative calling on Congress to denounce the DEs recent actions in California.
capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/

Send a comment to WAMM
www.guestbookdepot.com/cgi-bin/sign_book.cgi


Join your voice with these Community Leaders:

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer
"This is targeting people who consistent with California voters direction are trying to provide medicine to people that are terminally ill and in need of help. For the federal government to step on that it just strikes me that they're a bunch of big bullies,"

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt
Called the DEs actionsabsolutely appallin and praised WAMM as anextremely responsible collective; they have operated in a way that has been exemplary. It is not reassuring to me to know that federal agents, instead of concentrating on issues of national security, are running around the mountains of Santa Cruz County disrupting the work of people who provide a valuable medical resource to the community," she added.

U.S. Representative Sam Farr
Said the DEA should focus on more pressing woes, calling Thursdas action "outrageous." "With all the difficult problems the world faces, I find it hard to believe the DEA should further punish sick people, most of whom are terminally ill, by arresting them and carting them off to jail," Farr said in a statement. "This is truly outrageous."

"The DEA under the Bush administration has made it perfectly clear that they don't care about the will of California voters, who think medical marijuana should be available for people whose doctors believe they would benefit from it," Attorney General Bill Lockyer's spokeswoman Hallye Jordan said Thursday.

Santa Cruz City Attorney John Barisone
"The thought is, do they want to come and confront a 70-year-old woman in a wheelchair?" He said. "The comments that council members are getting from people on the street are along the line of, 'With all of the things the DEA is responsible for, how did this get to No. 1 on the 'to do' list?' "

Santa Cruz Mayor Christopher Krohn
"We want to call attention to this issue. There was an injustice here being done, and I think it's incumbent of the elected representatives to stand up for their constituents and make a statement."

Vice Mayor of Santa Cruz, Emily Reilly
"Is just absolutely loathsome to me that federal money, energy and staff time would be used to harass people like this,"

Santa Cruz City Councilman Mark Primack
"we are expressing what we feel to be the entire community's outrage and our support for those who are struggling to make this program work. "

Deputy Kim Allyn of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department said the DEA never told his department about the raid. Deputies went there after the fact only to keep the peace between protesters and DEA agents, he said: "Our concern is to make sure nobody gets hurt."
The department has a marijuana enforcement team targeting illegal trafficking, Allen said, but meets regularly with the Corrals and had deemed WAMM in compliance with -- and protected by -- state law.

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