PORTSMOUTH - On Sept. 5, 2002, federal agents swooped down on a clinic, the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana operated in Santa Cruz, Calif., pointed automatic weapons at paralyzed and terminally ill patients, destroyed the clinic's records and arrested its operators, Valerie and Mike Corral, leading them off in handcuffs.

This despite the passage of Proposition 215 by California voters in 1996, which exempts patients who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment from criminal laws against marijuana use when the drug is recommended by a doctor. The law also exempts physicians who prescribe marijuana from prosecution.

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