CITY, COUNTY JOIN POT LAWSUIT AGAINST DEA

SANTA CRUZ - An area medical-marijuana cooperative is fighting the feds
with a little help from its friends.

The Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana plans to sue the federal
government Wednesday - and the city and county of Santa Cruz are joining in
the lawsuit.

The suit, which has been planned for months, is expected to be filed in
federal court in San Jose following a 10 a.m. press conference at the Santa
Cruz County Government Center.

The suit, which has ramifications for all medical marijuana groups in the
Golden State, will name Attorney General John Ashcroft, federal drug czar
John Brown and acting Drug Enforcement Administration chief John Walters.

The alliance is seeking an injunction prohibiting federal agents from
raiding medical marijuana gardens - like the Sept. 5 raid of the alliance's
167-plant garden in Davenport.

Attorney Ben Rice, who represents WAMM, said the backing of county and city
officials is more than symbolic. The suit addresses a legal problem that
arises for local law enforcement when medical pot patients can't get
marijuana from a cooperative or buyers club, he said.

"If these people are not able to care for themselves, they have to get
(marijuana) from the black market, which creates a number of problems,"
Rice said.

County Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt hopes the suit will clarify murky legal
issues.

"I think there are significant constitutional questions that need to be
addressed," Wormhoudt said Monday. "I think there is a question of states'
rights (vs. federal laws)."

California voters in 1996 approved Proposition 215, which allows doctors to
recommend marijuana to patients.

The federal government, however, does not recognize the law, and during the
past two years has stepped up enforcement against medical marijuana clubs
and cooperatives statewide.

Medical marijuana advocates say the suit could ultimately shape national
policy.

"I think it's a case that will end up in the Supreme Court," WAMM
co-founder Valerie Corral said Monday. "We have good reason to believe we
can effect the kind of national policy that will enable people in our
communities to create a collective response to the need for medicine."

Medical pot advocates say marijuana helps relieve the pain, loss of
appetite and nausea of terminally ill patients and those in chronic pain.

The group has about 200 members and is unique in that it shares marijuana
among members, unlike buyers clubs that sell to patients.

The federal government maintains, however, that marijuana has no medicinal
value and treats it as an illegal drug.

Calls to the U.S. Department of Justice in San Francisco on Monday were
referred to the agency's Washington, D.C. office. Attempts to contact a
Justice Department spokesman there failed.

The suit is the second part of a two-pronged legal attack launched in the
wake of the Davenport raid. Weeks afterward, the cooperative sued to get
its plants back.

U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel denied the motion to return the plants,
but did allow the return of computers and personal items. An appeal of that
decision, to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, is
also expected Wednesday, Rice said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Sam Farr, D-Carmel, and others in Congress have
introduced a bill that would allow, in states that have medical marijuana
laws, for a medical-necessity defense against federal pot-growing and
possession charges.

That stems from the conviction on federal pot-growing charges of well-known
marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal. His lawyers were barred by the court from
stating that Rosenthal was growing the marijuana for an Oakland medical
marijuana club.

As for the September raid, Corral and husband Mike were jailed briefly the
day of the raid but have yet to be charged.


Pubdate: Tue, 22 Apr 2003
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2003 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact: editorial@santa-cruz.com
Website: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/