WAMM Press Release, Wednesday, January 13, 2010

PRESS RELEASE - For Immediate Release
 DATE: Wednesday, January 13, 2010
 CONTACT: Joe Paquin, 831-425-0580, joe at wamm.org
 Manager of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM).
 
 
 San Jose, CA. - The Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), a
 collective which provides medical marijuana to the terminally and critically
 ill at no cost, is having a settlement hearing in our case against the
 federal government this Friday, January 15, 2010, at 10:30 A.M.
 
 The case, County of Santa Cruz, Et Al V. Eric H. Holder, Jr., Et Al, has
 been working its way through the court system over the last 7 years, and
 over the past 4 Attorney Generals.  Our lawsuit stems from a 2002 Drug
 Enforcement Agency (DEA) raid on WAMM's collective garden, where armed
 agents used chainsaws to destroy the medicine for 200 sick and dying
 patients.  This suit was enjoined by the City and County of Santa Cruz.  The
 new administration has agreed to relax their aggressive actions.
 
 Valerie Corral will be reading a prepared statement to the court, which will
 be publically released after the hearing.
 
 We urge all supporters, WAMM members and caregivers, and friends and family
 to come show support at the hearing.  The US District Courthouse is located
 at the following address:
 
 US District Court, Judge Jeremy Fogel, Courtroom No. 3, 5th Floor
 280 South 1st St.
 San Jose, CA. 95113
 
 Details of the settlement will be released following the court hearing.
 Valerie and Mike Corral, as well as their attorneys, will be available after
 the hearing for comment.
 
 We would like to thank our lawyers, who have provided many tiresome hours of
 pro-bono work, protecting our members and our collective.  This includes
 Gerald Uelmen, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University Law School, Graham
 Boyd and Allen Hopper of the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project, Frank Kennamer,
 Neha Nissen, Troy Sauro, and Rachel Sommovilla of Bingham McCutchen, Daniel
 Abrahamson, and Ethan Nadelmann of Drug Policy Alliance, and Ben Rice of Ben
 Rice Law.
 
 For more information about the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana and
 the services we provide for terminally ill medical marijuana patients,
 please visit our website at http://www.wamm.org.