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Need a new Tat or a touch up?
Catch award winning Red Eye Jedi
in Seattle and say Hi from all of us at WAMM. When he was in town he generously
donated all money earned from tattoos to WAMM.
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WAMM in the News: |
Media
contact
information |
WAMM's MapInc. RSS feed |
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WAMM in the news
May, 2009
U.S. Supreme Court Affirms
California's Medical Marijuana Law. High court refuses to hear state
lawsuit brought by San Diego County. The lawsuit filed by San Diego in
2006 challenged the state-mandate to implement an identification card
program for patients based on the argument that state law is preempted
by federal law.
Note that the actual
title of this case is San Diego v. San Diego NORML et al., not County of
San Diego vs State of California. It originated in a lawsuit against San
Diego NORML, when they threatened to sue the county for failure to
implement the ID card program. Other defendants and respondents included
the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana
and A. G Brown for the State of California; plus interveners and
respondents Wendy Christakes, Norbert Litzinger, William Britt, Yvonne
Westbrook and Americans for Safe Access. Many thanks to Allen Hopper of
the ACLU for so ably representing the many parties in this case. - D.
Gierger, Cal NORML.
Related
Media:
C.A. NORML News
San Francisco Chronicle Article
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February, 2009
Read important
interpretations and advice regarding the new CA Supreme Court
Caregiver Criteria changes on Attorney
Ben Rice's
website. This is highly recommend reading. Follow his advice. We do.
(Supreme Ct.
Opinion - PDF)
Monday December 1, 2008
"At last, the US Supreme Court has thankfully put an end to the
frivolous legal claim that local police are obliged to enforce federal
medical marijuana law. The court's refusal to take
up the Felix Kha case is a
propitious indication that they will likely reject the similar appeal by
San Diego and
San Bernardino counties .The time has come for both counties to
implement the state
ID card system and to make allowance for patients' cooperatives and
collectives as
called for in SB 420." - Dale Gieringer,
Cal NORML Read more:
U.S. Supreme Court order denying review,
Decision by the California Fourth Appellate District Court,
Felix Kha's return of property case |
WAMM wins 2 landmark
cases!
Order DENYING Motion
to Dismiss (Hooray!): On October 17th,
2008 9:00 AM the Federal Government asked
Jeremy D.
Fogel to hear reasons
for an order to dismiss.
Judge Fogel reasserted that after a great deal of consideration
reasonable discovery is permissible given the evidence put forth by
County of Santa Cruz v.
Mukasey, (The case, County of
Santa Cruz v. Mukasey, originated in 2003 when Bingham McCutchen LLP
and the Drug Policy Alliance, along with private attorneys Gerald F.
Uelmen and Benjamin Rice, sued the federal government for raiding a
Santa Cruz-area medical marijuana cooperative, the Wo/Men's Alliance
for Medical Marijuana and by the
tenth amendment.
ACLU article |
Court Ruling
Valerie Leveroni
Corral and the
ACLU urge CA Supreme Court to reject the challenge to appeal the
validity of State Medical Marijuana Laws: The ACLU's brief
to the California Supreme Court urging that the Court reject the
appeal of two California counties challenging the validity of the
State's medical marijuana laws. San Diego and San Bernardino
Counties are appealing the
July 31, 2008 ruling of the California Court of Appeal, which
held that California’s medical marijuana laws are entirely
legitimate.
ACLU brief.
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As It Stands by Dave Stancliff/For the
Times-Standard
Article Launched: 09/14/2008 01:32:06 AM
PDT
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Tuesday 9/22/08 - Call to action:
3:00 PM at the Santa Cruz City Hall (opposite the
library) - Please show up and support the smoking ban lift for WAMMFest
next Saturday. |
RIP VIP WAMM Member,
Chris Matthews
"He was a spellbinding kind of colorful figure," said Gary Patton in the
San Jose Mercury
News. |
Federal Court Rules U.S. Government May
Not Deliberately Subvert California’s Medical Marijuana Laws
(8/20/2008)
WAMM co-founder Valerie Corral called the
ruling "hopeful." WAMM had its medical marijuana seized by federal
agents in a 2002 raid."Our lawsuit is really much more of an appeal
than a lawsuit. It's an appeal for mercy from the federal
government," Corral said. "We're not asking to break the law. We're
asking to have another avenue for relief."
Full story:
http://www.aclu.org/drugpolicy/medmarijuana/36496prs20080820.html |
New in Sociology from NYU Press
Dying to Get High
Marijuana as Medicine
Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb
272 p. | Paperback: $22.00
"This is a beautifully written account from the front lines of a
struggle between a federal drug war complex determined to keep
demonizing marijuana and the growing movement of patients and doctors
who have found marijuana to be a valuable medicine. Voters in California
and many other states have strongly supported the patients. The moving
stories in this book show why."—Craig Reinarman, co-author of Crack in
America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice
Learn More
http://www.nyupress.org/books/Dying_to_Get_High-products_id-7726.html
Wendy Chapkis and Richard Webb Interviewd on NORML's STASH
Listen Now
http://www.norml.org/audio/audio_stash/NORML_Daily_AudioStash_2008-07-28.mp3
Related recent medical marijuana work by
Wendy Chapkis
Society for the Study of Social
Problems passed a strong resolution in support of medical
marijuana read the full resolution:
Posted: 28 Aug 2008
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogmpp/~3/377272613/
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WAMM
in court:
Friday 4/25/08 at 9:00am
WAMM was in court with
Jeremy
D. Fogel
who heard
10th Amendment Arguments.
US District Ninth Court
Courtroom No 3. - 5th Floor San Jose
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The Bill of Rights
Amendments 1-10 of the
Constitution
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Thanks Santa Cruz and the Santa
Cruz Dyke March
for our fun
4/20/08 is year birthday Draggin'
Fest!
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Valerie Leveroni
Corral's
Opinion of The UCSC 420 Lockdown
Friday, April 18 2008
UCSC’s 420 lockdown is not
about 420. It is an aggressive action against peaceful assembly.
Students vote. In Santa Cruz county more that a decade ago medical
marijuana passed by 71% and last year marijuana was declared the lowest
priority of the law. UCSC,
take a breath!
Among the responsibilities of every institution of
higher education, including UCSC is: to uphold the constitution, to
protect the rights of each student, not to violate them, and to provide
public access to citizens of our community whose taxes support UCSC.
Ask yourself, should UCSC be denying the right
to peacefully assemble? When 4000 people assemble in support of a
common interest this community takes note. The university seeks to
create chaos out of peaceful assembly. Shame on you! We thought we
taught our elders better! See: The
First Amendment of the Constitution.
We welcome everyone (including all people turned
away from UCSC) to our free party to celebrate WAMM's Quinceñera -- 15
years of serving each other with medical marijuana. DIY 4/20 at 4:20pm.
Join the revolution of consciousness with us. The Free DIY party begins
in the parking lot behind Pearl Alley at Lincoln and Cedar and features:
Omega Project, Genea Gjaguar, Clown Burlesque, Radical Cheerleaders,
Lisa Dewey, Kinetica, Ariginal and Las Palamitas. Simultaneously for
those 21 or over with a valid ID our beloved Club Dakota is donating all
proceeds from the door to WAMM and DJ A.D. will be spinning Motown. This
event is proudly sponsored by the Santa Cruz Dyke March. Dress as your
favorite Superhero/Villian. Peace Santa Cruz.
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Valerie Leveroni Corral's comments
on Judge Fogel's September 1,
2007 decision
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RIP:
John Morgan
An
extraordinary man, a joyful healer. In1992 he provided the court with
testimony regarding my case resulting from our first arrest. As the
first patient in California to challenge the law on medical necessity
there was little information & fewer physicians with the courage to
speak. The world is a sorrowful
place without you,
John, but the angels are dancing in your light.
More.. |
| There are two points upon
which to focus, the Necessity Defense issue and the
10th
Amendment issue. I’ll further explain below. Firstly, to address the Necessity Defense Claim…
Judge Fogel states that there is no legal
basis to affirm the
Necessity Defense Claim according to prior
findings by the Supreme Court, thereby he granted the
government’s motion to dismiss. |
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Considering that the Supreme Court, in both the OCBC
and the Raich cases denied the Necessity Defense Claim as noted below,
one must consider the possibility of moving the judicial process toward
compassion, reasoning that every preceding case has informed the court. In the case of OCBC, the Supreme Court refused to
recognize that a single entity, serving any number of patients, could act as sole caregiver. In the case of Raich, the Supreme Court denied
the claim of the Necessity Defense reasoning that since the federal government had taken
no action against her, no arrest or confiscation of her medicine, that
no claim existed.
So what is different
about the WAMM case? Were we able to show a pattern of aggressive action
by the federal government; i.e., if our garden was raided again and no
indictment followed, or if we were to be rearrested, then that pattern
would be established. Ordinarily, one would be able to claim a defense of necessity
following prosecution. However, Judge Fogel stated that he would
consider a pre-prosecution application of the Necessity Defense in our
case. Our hope must be based in the Congress.
The 10th Amendment issue leaves
the door open. Judge Fogel requested additional briefing allowing 30 days to amend our complaint.
These
facts do not change the course of history, yet, but are extraordinary.
They do not promise victory, but do recognize that our work is valued
and in some way honored. While this is disappointing, it is not
altogether unexpected. |
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December 21, 2007
Valerie Leveroni Corral comments on the Kha
decision:
Once again the judiciary showed favor in a recent
decision from the Fourth Court of Appeals when they demanded that the Garden
Grove Police Department return seized medical marijuana to a man in
Riverside County. The importance of this decision implies a trend toward the
normalization of medical marijuana encouraging other courts in the state to
reflect more deeply on Proposition 215 while affecting and upholding the
law.
In addition, the court addressed a loophole in SB420 (regulations enacted
by the state of California regarding Prop. 215) mending the California
Vehicle Code Section 23222, prohibiting one ounce or less of marijuana in a
car. The 41-page decision, City of Garden Grove v. Superior Court (Felix Kha).
This comes into more and more people in the nation see the value of
inexpensive, safe application of marijuana as medicine.
Read the full article (.pdf) |
Q: How many courts of appeals are there?
There are 13 judicial circuits, each with a court of appeals. The smallest
court is the First Circuit with six judgeships, and the largest court is the
Ninth Circuit, with 28 judgeships.
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September 22, 2007
Smoking Ban Lifted For Medical-Pot
Festival
Festival To Benefit Women's Alliance For Medical Marijuana
http://www.theksbwchannel.com/news/14154279/detail.html |
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September 1, 2007 U.S. Court delivers
setback to WAMM:
http://cannabisnews.com/news/23/thread23300.shtml |
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May 21, 2007 Help WAMM Campaign launched:
May 21, 2007:
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February 9, 2007
State Supreme Court to clarify Proposition 215
SANTA CRUZ — Medical marijuana advocates hope the state Supreme Court will
set rules that protect and broaden the role of caregivers who grow and
distribute marijuana for the sick.
Full story: |
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Feb 1, 2006 An area
medical marijuana cooperative should be free from harassment by federal
agents as should the city's recently enacted ordinance that would establish
a compassionate use office for the drug, an amended federal court complaint
filed this week contends.
Full story...
Feb 1, 2006
WAMM applauds the
Santa Cruz Citizens for Sensible Marijuana Policy. Here is a similar
article in the
Washington Post.
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Daniel Baehr - RIP 12.12.2005
Founding WAMM Member
and brave
Plaintiff.
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November 18, 2006
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Dr. Mike Alcalay 1941 - 2006: A brave longtime friend of
WAMM, AIDS
Activist and Medical Marijuana Advocate dies of Leukemia...the day before he
passed, Dr. Mike was still writing medical marijuana recommendations to WAMM
members. RIP
Mike, you will be dearly missed. |
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January 31, 2005
Round Two Begins in
Legal Fight to Force Feds to Honor States’ Medical Marijuana Laws
(1/31/2005)
Full story... |
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November 10-12, 2005
Michael Corral and
Valerie Leveroni Corral are the proud recipients of the 2005
Norman E. Zinberg Award for Achievement in the field of medicine. |
The award was presented at the
DPA 2005
Conference. |
November 8, 2005
Office
of Compassionate Use
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“I applaud the city’s action and pray the
courts ultimately find in our favor." The sick should not be threatened with
arrest for accessing needed medicine, nor the compassionate for providing it.”
-
Valerie Leveroni Corral
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Jane Weirick - RIP
Jane was a tireless and dedicated worker for the cause of cannabis reform and
will be dearly missed. Read more...
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Valerie's
2005
Burbank
Trial
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“A city cannot arbitrarily choose the laws it will enforce,”
said Corral. “Every citizen must obey the law, including Burbank police
officers.”
Valerie Corral
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| July 16th - March
Coverage
Santa Cruz Sentinel |
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July 15th -
Pre-March
Coverage
"We want to assist each
other," Corral said. "This is America at its best, people helping people."
read the full article
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Santa Cruz Sentinel |
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June 6 - 16, 2005
On 6/6/05 the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled against sick and dying patients
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Make sure to catch the wonderful film:
"Waiting
to Inhale".
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picture copyright by J. Hanamoto |
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Sept. 5th 2002, Santa Cruz Sheriff's deputy negotiating with
the DEA on behalf of the sick members of WAMM to release Valerie and Mike
Corral in exchange for letting the U-Hauls full of their medicinal
marijuana down from the garden. |
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Picture by J. Hanamoto |
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The WAMM garden before and after the Sept. 5
raid. Patients that were well enough to make it to the garden that
day mourned together in a circle the loss of their medicine.
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Putting
a face on feds' war on medicinal pot The Mercury News -
The photo of Betty Breadth, beaming and wearing a scarlet feather boa,
belies the tale of a middle-aged mom with cancer who had to learn how to
roll a joint -- and smoked only outside on her deck -- so she could
endure the excruciating final stages of her illness. |
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Tandy Won't Be Dandy for Medical Marijuana WorkingForChange
Veteran drug warrior
nominated by Bush to head the DEA |
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Judge
Indicates He Wants To Protect Pot Patients Bay City News
A federal judge in San Jose
today indicated that he wanted to find a way to allow terminally ill
patients to grow their own marijuana but did not think it would be
possible under current federal law. |
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*********************************************
What follows is news about WAMM before the Sept.
5th 2002 raid:
On Nov. 7 2002 WAMM had a very successful
fundraising benefit featuring Ram Dass. At the benefit the Mayor of Santa Cruz,
Christopher Krohn, officially proclaimed Nov 7th as Ram
Dass day in Santa Cruz! Thank you all for your overwhelming
support.
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