Pubdate: Fri,  6 Sep 2002
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2002 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Ken McLaughlin

AGENTS SEIZE COUPLE, PLANTS

Pot Farm: State Vs. Federal Fight Over Medicinal Marijuana Flares UP In 
Santa Cruz County

Federal drug agents on Thursday raided a nationally known cooperative that 
grows medicinal marijuana in Santa Cruz County, arresting a married couple 
that founded the organization a decade ago.

Valerie and Michael Corral were arrested at their home in the hills near 
Davenport on federal charges of intent to distribute marijuana and 
conspiracy. But by the end of the day, the couple were released from 
custody in San Jose after the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to file 
charges against them.

It was unclear late Thursday whether the couple would ever be charged, a 
source in the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Agents said they seized more than 100 marijuana plants, a shotgun and three 
rifles in the early morning raid. As word filtered out, AIDS patients and 
other members of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana -- better 
known as WAMM -- who rely on marijuana to relieve pain began to gather at a 
locked gate that leads to the farm.

When about a dozen U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency agents realized they 
couldn't leave without confronting the group of more than 30 people, the 
agents called the Santa Cruz County sheriff's office. The department, which 
knew nothing in advance about the raid and has worked closely with the 
Corrals to make sure the farm operated within state laws, sent a patrol car 
about 2 p.m.

Sgt. Terry Moore helped arrange passage for the agents after WAMM member 
Daniel Rodrigues talked to Valerie Corral, 49, on a cell phone. Corral told 
Rodrigues to let the agents leave.

The agents then left in a half-dozen SUVs and some U-Haul trucks containing 
the confiscated marijuana.

``Shame on you!'' several members of the group jeered as the agents drove by.

``I hope you rot in hell,'' one WAMM member shouted.

Valerie Corral received national attention for her role in helping to draft 
California's Proposition 215, the 1996 measure that permits patients and 
their caregivers to grow their own pot for medicinal purposes. She and her 
husband have complied fully with the measure, said sheriff's spokesman Kim 
Allyn.

The collective was conceived by Valerie Corral after she discovered that 
marijuana helped suppress epileptic seizures stemming from a head injury 
suffered in a car accident three decades ago.

``To their credit, Valerie and Michael Corral held true and strict to the 
guidelines,'' Allyn said. ``I think how Valerie told the group to move from 
the roadway today shows what kind of person she is.''

Thursday's raid was the latest battle in a war pitting local police and 
sheriff's deputies against federal authorities after the passage of 
Proposition 215 -- which U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft maintains 
violates federal drug laws.

In May, the U.S. Supreme Court made it impossible to provide medicinal 
marijuana to seriously ill patients without running afoul of U.S. laws, 
issuing a broad ruling that jeopardized the future of medicinal pot 
programs in California and other states. In an 8-0 opinion, the justices 
rejected a federal appeals court's earlier decision that carved out a 
``medical necessity'' exception to drug laws.

DEA agents have recently cracked down on several pot distribution clubs in 
California -- clubs that had received the blessing of local law enforcement 
agencies. Earlier this year, agents seized hundreds of plants from a San 
Francisco club and arrested one of its suppliers, pot guru Ed Rosenthal.

Thursday's raid was surprising, though, since the cooperative has worked so 
closely with sheriff's deputies. ``We're trying to do the right thing, but 
this puts us between a rock and a hard place,'' Allyn said.

After the U.S. attorney made the decision not to file charges on Thursday, 
a DEA representative could not be reached for comment.

After the DEA agents left, about 50 members of the cooperative and the 
media examined what was left at the farm, which sits on a ridge overlooking 
the Pacific Ocean about three miles north of Davenport.

After seeing the once-flourishing, one-acre garden with a sign saying 
``Love Grows Here,'' several WAMM members wept openly and cursed the agents 
who had wiped out the pot farm.

``This is a nightmare,'' said Diana Dodson, a WAMM board member who uses 
cannabis to counteract the side effects of the drugs she takes for AIDS. 
``I'm numb. I'm still in shock.''

Marijuana, she said, ``keeps me walking.''

WAMM provides medicinal marijuana for more than 230 patients, most of them 
suffering from AIDS, cancer and neurological diseases such as epilepsy. The 
waiting list for terminal patients is a year long, Dodson said.

The cooperative is unique because patients who are well enough share chores 
of planting, weeding, watering and harvesting the plants, said Dale 
Gieringer, California coordinator of the National Organization for the 
Reform of Marijuana Laws.

``I think the federal government may have bitten off more than they can 
chew on this one,'' he said.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart