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Santa Cruz -- In between battling illness, death and federal agents, members of an area medical-marijuana cooperative say they have to have a little fun. For the second straight year, members of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana and friends will do just that.
They'll stage their annual WAMMFest Labor Day weekend, on Sept. 5. The event is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz.
The chosen date is no accident – it commemorates the anniversary of WAMM's garden getting uprooted in 2002 by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Instead of marking it as a gloomy day, the collective wants to celebrate.
"From that incident came a greater understanding of the need for patients to have access," said WAMM co-founder Valerie Corral. "It gives us an opportunity to celebrate and transform that experience that was dark and frightening."
The event will feature the usual Central Coast festival offerings – music, food, vendors.
Expect plenty of hemp-based goods, but unless you're a patient with a doctor's recommendation, leave the nugs at home.
Organizers emphasize non-medical toking remains illegal.
They say the festival is intended to be a family-friendly gathering. Last year's event drew an estimated 1,000 people.
This year's special feature will be a dunking booth featuring a faux U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
While the day is about celebration, WAMM continues a legal fight in federal courts. No one has been charged in connection with the 167 plants federal agents uprooted two years ago, and the group has sought an order to return the plants.
That as yet has not been successful, but the cooperative did succeed in getting an injunction against the DEA in April barring any future raids of its garden.
WAMM planted its garden anew in May.
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Author: Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff Writer
Published: August 17, 2004
Copyright: 2004 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact: editorial@santa-cruz.com
Website: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Breaking News, Sports, Business, Entertainment & Scotts Valley News
They'll stage their annual WAMMFest Labor Day weekend, on Sept. 5. The event is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz.
The chosen date is no accident – it commemorates the anniversary of WAMM's garden getting uprooted in 2002 by agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Instead of marking it as a gloomy day, the collective wants to celebrate.
"From that incident came a greater understanding of the need for patients to have access," said WAMM co-founder Valerie Corral. "It gives us an opportunity to celebrate and transform that experience that was dark and frightening."
The event will feature the usual Central Coast festival offerings – music, food, vendors.
Expect plenty of hemp-based goods, but unless you're a patient with a doctor's recommendation, leave the nugs at home.
Organizers emphasize non-medical toking remains illegal.
They say the festival is intended to be a family-friendly gathering. Last year's event drew an estimated 1,000 people.
This year's special feature will be a dunking booth featuring a faux U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft.
While the day is about celebration, WAMM continues a legal fight in federal courts. No one has been charged in connection with the 167 plants federal agents uprooted two years ago, and the group has sought an order to return the plants.
That as yet has not been successful, but the cooperative did succeed in getting an injunction against the DEA in April barring any future raids of its garden.
WAMM planted its garden anew in May.
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Author: Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff Writer
Published: August 17, 2004
Copyright: 2004 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact: editorial@santa-cruz.com
Website: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Breaking News, Sports, Business, Entertainment & Scotts Valley News
