Eighteen months after a brutal DEA raid on the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) collective in Santa Cruz County, the seriously ill collective members finally got the protection from future raids and harassment they have sought since filing suit against the federal government one year ago. After reconsidering his earlier decision in the high profile case County of Santa Cruz et al. v. Ashcroft, Judge Jeremy Fogel of the Northern District of California has granted Plaintiffs a preliminary injunction and denied the government's motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' complaint. Wednesday's (4/21/04) ruling will protect WAMM while the lawsuit is pending, and allow the collective to resume cultivation.

"The federal government can no longer ignore the will of the people of the State of California and the City and County of Santa Cruz to protect the health and welfare of terminally and chronically ill individuals," stated Neha Shah Nissen, an attorney with Bingham McCutchen.

"We applaud the Court's decision and we are profoundly pleased as we prepare to replant our garden," said Valerie Corral, co-founder of WAMM. "But we also steady ourselves for a tug of war with the present administration's unwillingness to honor the democratic process."

previous coverage: [ DEA Raids Santa Cruz Dispensary! (9/5/02) I WAMM's Medicinal Cannabis Distribution at City Hall I Audio from the WAMM Pot Giveaway (9/17/02) ]

[ Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana I Drug Policy Alliance I Americans for Safe Access ]

On March 25, supporters of Loreto Arizpe and all youth in prison rallied in front of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse to send a clear message to Bob Lee, the District Attorney for Santa Cruz County. The message is that the California Youth Authority (CYA) will only make problems worse and that Loreto is ready, willing, and able to make very positive contributions to his community.

Bob Lee may be well on the way to pushing Loreto Arizpe deeper into the Injustice System by sending Loreto to the California Youth Authority, directly contradicting his public statements. On February 22, Lee stated that Santa Cruz County would join the CYA ban and that "...while there are no local offenders 'in the pipeline' for sentencing, the county is prepared to use other programs and detention facilities...to house sentenced offenders until the CYA hearings are completed and recommendations made."

Loreto's sentencing was scheduled to take place during the rally, but has been postponed to a later date.

Audio: Speak Out for Loreto Arizpe and All Youth in Prison!!

[ rally announcement and background information: Say No to the CYA! I Critical Resistance ]

Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Michael Barton ruled today (March 19) that a Santa Cruz City law that prohibits political tabling for more than an hour is unconstitutional.

Activist Steve Argue was arrested twice under the law in June and July 2003. He was arrested staffing a joint political table of the Peace and Freedom Party and Homeless United for Friendship and Freedom.

A number of police began to time and monitor Steve Argues political activities as soon as he erected the literature table on the sidewalk of Pacific Avenue. When an hour was up the police demanded Argue take down his table or face arrest. Argue refused the police orders saying that City law was in violation of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Twice, on June 23 and July 6th, he was handcuffed and taken to jail with literature and signs taken in as evidence.

Today Judge Barton agreed with the argument put forward by Steve Argues attorney, Tony Bole, that the law is unconstitutional on the grounds that it discriminates against non-commercial displays in favor of commercial displays. Those setting up commercial displays can attain a license and sell their products all day while there is no such avenue for non-commercial displays such as free literature.

First Amendment Center

Santa Cruz Copwatch is a community based organization comprised of students, professionals, activists, community leaders, and others that seeks to provide police oversight by observing police activity, aiding people in airing their concerns and grievances with the police, and reporting their findings to the community. Copwatchers observe and record but do not interfere with police activity. Independent citizen police review and oversight is vital in all communities, but is especially important in Santa Cruz with the recent elimination of funding for the personnel of the Citizens' Police Review Commission.

Please join Santa Cruz Copwatch for a special screening of These Streets are Watching on Wednesday, April 7, from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM at the Resource Center for Nonviolence.

Abe Bonowitz, Bill Pelke, and Juan Melendez are on a Journey of Hope, travelling around the country speaking out and educating people about the reality of capital punishment. The trio were in Monterey on Valentine's Day for a conference of defense attorneys.

Bill Pelke lost his grandmom to a brutal murder and initially sought her killer's execution, but he had an epiphany and now works against the death penalty.

Juan Meledez spent 17 years, 8 months and a day on Florida's death row for a crime he did not commit. He was set free in January 2002. Juan has become an activist, working to end capital punishment.

Abe Bonowitz is with Citizens United Against the Death Penalty. He has been working to educate the public about human rights problems, in particular the death penalty and the need for alternatives to the death penalty, for over 15 years. But he only came to his position after arguing FOR the death penalty for almost a year in an attempt to disprove the facts presented by death penalty opponents.

Audio from Journey of Hope in Monterey I raw audio

[ Bill Pelke I Juan Melendez I Abe Bonowitz I Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CUADP) I Journey of Hope ]

The co-founder of the Crips gang, who may be innocent of the particular crimes he was convicted of, is scheduled to be executed in CA on December 13, 2005.

State Agent Michael Walker is finally going to trial for voluntary manslaugther, in San Jose, California, for the murder of Rudy Cardenas which took place on Feb 17, 2004.

"Here, in Mar Del Plata, FTAA will be buried."

Hugo Chavez

So far 2 independent journalists have been siezed as provovateurs seek shut down peaceful protest at the Summit of the Americas. This year the Summit is in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, where the radical right wing Peronists regained power with the ascension of George Bush in the US. A brigade of 8000 police were assembled to "protect" the summit. What has ensued is a physical enactment of the ungoing war against the poor the US seeks to advance with the FTAA. Five of the 34 counties represented at the summit steadfastly oppose the treaty.

The idea that western society is a 'chain-of-command' society and that the low intensity wars that happen here are played out by pawns of those wars appears to be a way of seeing what few seem to consider. To see this is to begin to not only understand why the feds have worked so hard to shut down and undermine the IMC projects (because we have here the *threat of a good example*) but also build a basis on which to envision truly serious alternatives.

In Utica, NY, resident Walter Washington was shot and killed by a Utica police officer this summer. The details surrounding the events of that night are shady at best and bizarre at worst. Many questions are still unanswered and Mr. Washington’s friends and family live in a state of uncertainty as they attempt to find the truth of the events surrounding Washington’s death.