Drug Policy Alliance, together with the prestigious law firm Bingham McCutchen, is representing the City and County of Santa Cruz and seven seriously ill and dying patients in a lawsuit against John Ashcroft and the DEA for the right to grow and use marijuana for sick and dying patients.  It is the first time that local government has sued the federal government to expand medical marijuana rights.  The plaintiffs claim that the constitution prevents the feds from interfering with patient's rights. 

What is WAMM?

• The Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) is a collective that provides a safe, affordable medical marijuana to it’s members, all of whom suffer from chronic pain conditions and/or terminal illnesses.  WAMM was started by Valerie and Michael Corral.
  
  
• WAMM is located in Santa Cruz, California and has approximately 250 members.  Membership is based upon demonstrated medical need as well as a physician’s recommendation.  WAMM is a volunteer organization funded by private donations; WAMM members do not pay for the medicine they receive. Furthermore, members are required to use their medicine within California.
  
  
• WAMM is unique in that every patient member and/or his or her caregiver participates actively in the cultivation of the medicine, preparing it for patient use, or the administration of WAMM.  WAMM’s effectiveness is based in large part in the strong community that provides members with pier support and assistance in time of need. 

Why sue the federal government?

• On September 5, 2002, federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (under the supervision of United States Attorney General John Ashcroft) raided the WAMM gardens where medical marijuana was cultivated. Dressed in military fatigues and wielding assault weapons, DEA officers seized numerous plants, life saving medicines, and other forms of property that assist in the cultivating process. 
  
  
• As a result of this raid, WAMM has been unable to provide its patients with the medicine they need. This has caused an insurmountable level of pain and suffering as well as hastening the deaths of the most vulnerable WAMM members.
  
  
• This lawsuit, County of Santa Cruz v. Ashcroft et. al, asks the federal courts to enjoin the federal government from raiding the WAMM gardens again in the future.  This relief will allow WAMM members to again cultivate the medicine that, in many cases, is the only medicine available to relieve their pain, nausea, sleeplessness, or other symptoms of their diseases or side-effects of their medication.
  
  
• Santa Cruz has long supported the efficacy of medical marijuana.   In 1992, the County of Santa Cruz, California voted to legalize the use of medical marijuana by patients who receive a recommendation from a licensed physician. The legal use of medical marijuana became state law in 1996 when California voters approved Proposition 215.
  
  
• Since its inception, WAMM has consistently worked with law enforcement officials to safely and legally provide its services to the sick and terminally ill. This is in part due to the city and county’s responsibility to care for their sick and dying patients.
  
  
• The City of Santa Cruz has deputized Valerie and Michael Corral and WAMM as official medical marijuana providers of the City of Santa Cruz.
  
  
• After the September 5, 2002 raid, the Santa Cruz city council allowed for the weekly allotment of WAMM medical marijuana to be distributed on the steps of City Hall.  Six of seven members of the Santa Cruz City Council, including now Mayor Emily Reilly, attended the demonstration in support of WAMM, as did three former mayors of the City of Santa Cruz, and a Santa Cruz County supervisor.

Who are the Plaintiffs?

• The plaintiffs consist of sick and dying patients, WAMM as an organization, and both the City and County of Santa Cruz.
  
  
• The patient plaintiffs are seven current members of WAMM whose medical marijuana use has significantly improved their health and extended their lives. Their names are Eladio Acosta, Dan Baehr, Michael Cheslosky, Valerie Corral, Dorothy Gibbs, Jennifer Hentz, and Harold Margolin. Like other WAMM members, plaintiffs have had their medicine substantially decreased since the raid.  If the federal government is not barred from future raids, the supply of medicine will dwindle and WAMM members health will be in increasing peril.
  
  
• The County and City of Santa Cruz are participating in this effort to help ensure that their residents have access to the medication that they need.  This falls squarely within their duties to protect the health and safety of their residents.

What is unique about this case?

• This is the first time that a public entity has every challenged the federal government’s actions in impeding access of medical marijuana patients to their medicine.
  
  
• This case focuses in large part on the right of patients to control their circumstances of their own deaths and pain relief, rights recognized by the Supreme Court but never fully defined.
  
  
• WAMM itself is unique.  Unlike other medical marijuana cooperatives, WAMM does not charge money for its medical marijuana.  Additionally, WAMM runs much like a hospice, providing much needed care and support to all members of it thriving member community. 

Does Medical Marijuana work?

• Numerous published studies suggest that marijuana has medical value in treating patients with serious illnesses such as AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and chronic pain. See http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/medical/ for more info.
  
  
• In 1999, the Institute of Medicine, in the most comprehensive study of medical marijuana's efficacy, concluded that, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety . . . all can be mitigated by marijuana."

Who Can I Contact for Further Information?

For more information, please contact:

Tony Newman
Director of Communications
Drug Policy Alliance
tnewman@drugpolicy.org
510-812-3126