Santa Cruz, California, on April 23 became the first
municipality to file a lawsuit against federal drug warriors
enforcing the U.S. ban on medical marijuana, reports Ann Harrison
in CounterPunch. The lawsuit stems from the September 2002
raid on the Wo/Men?s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), in
which DEA agents arrested two WAMM founders and confiscated 167
marijuana plants. ?The heart of the matter is the fundamental
constitutional right of every citizen to control the circumstances
of his or her own death,? plaintiff’s attorney Gerald Uelmen told
CounterPunch. ?That right is so fundamental that the
federal government cannot interfere with that right unless they
show a compelling interest, and that is the challenge that we are
posing to federal authorities in this case.? City officials have
demonstrated their support since the raid by allowing WAMM members
to collect their weekly allotment of medical marijuana on the steps
of City Hall, and in nearby San Jose, Police Chief William
Landsdowne has removed his officers from the DEA joint task force
that made the WAMM arrests because the federal law is not in
accordance with California?s Compassionate Use Act.
?Nick Garafola
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Back in Santa Cruz: Medical Marijuana Patients Sue The Feds
