cannabisnews.com: Odd Twists Leave Couple in Center of Pot Debate





Odd Twists Leave Couple in Center of Pot Debate
Posted by CN Staff on September 16, 2002 at 07:12:58 PT
By Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff Writer
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel 
Mike Corral is a soft-spoken man with a love for all things that grow. His wife, Valerie, with a shock of auburn hair, exudes a spiritual presence and has a bright smile.Except for a few of life’s twists and turns, the couple say they would be living a quiet, private life in the mountains. "I love being in the garden," Mike Corral said, standing in a barren patch of dirt on the property where they live north of Davenport.
But life has been anything but quiet for the Corrals in recent days, or the past decade, for that matter. Willy-nilly, the unassuming couple has become something of a poster couple for the national medical-marijuana movement.That was clear even before a small army of federal agents raided their property last week, plucking about 130 not-quite-mature plants grown for members of the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana, the local pot club Valerie runs.The raid not only shocked the 238 members of the group, most of them terminally ill and dependent on the cooperative for medicinal pot, it disgusted a few area elected officials.The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors and Santa Cruz City Council passed resolutions condemning the raid. Council members have gone as far as to allow the alliance to use City Hall on Tuesday to distribute marijuana to its members.So the quiet life will have to wait for another day for the Corrals. This is the time to speak up, they say.Medical marijuana may be a novel issue for some, but it is a "life and death issue for others," Valerie Corral said.They’re not in the fight for publicity or fame. The speak, they say, to show the nation and the world the faces of the sick people who need marijuana to ease their pain. They’ve spoken to just about every major newspaper in the state since the raid. USA Today was here for an interview and CNN is expected this week. That’s along with a slew of news reports and editorials that have appeared across the country in the wake of the raid."The media is the way America speaks to one another," Valerie Corral said.They dispute the notion they are glorifying drugs. In fact, they say, a Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana gathering, with its sometimes emaciated and dying patients, can feel as emotionally troubling as it can be uplifting.The couple knows first-hand how marijuana can seem like a god-send to people in pain. Valerie herself has been down that road.An automobile accident in 1973, too bizarre to even call freakish, left her with brain injuries that caused epilepsy. Valerie was a passenger in a 1965 Volkswagen bug, and was cruising in the desert outside Reno, Nev., with a girlfriend.The teens spotted a World War II era P-51 plane flying unusually low. They pulled to the side. The plane whizzed past.As they pulled the VW back onto the highway, the plane made a looping turn and roared toward them. The Bug lifted off the ground, and both girls were thrown from the car.She got a $40,000 settlement. But years of traditional medicine left her in a stupor and frustrated. She had so many seizures she couldn’t be left alone.Then one day Mike read an article in a medical journal that said pot could relieve seizures like the ones Valerie was suffering.She tried a joint.Within four years, she was off all traditional medicines and her seizures were a thing of the past.The story could have ended there. The Corrals could be living in their mountain digs, taking care of themselves, growing some vegetables. A look around their garden reveals Mike’s gardening prowess. Corn and tomatoes grow nearby the now-vacant pot plot. He experiments with tropical fruits.But in 1992 they were busted.That time it was by the county Sheriff’s Office, operating with state marijuana patrols. After a preliminary hearing, the charges against Valerie Corral were dropped based on a medical necessity defense. Another raid in 1993 resulted in no prosecution.When word of the first arrest got out in the media, other sick people became interested. The collective known as Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana emerged."I guess we have Al Noren to thank for that," Corral said, alluding to the former Santa Cruz County sheriff. While marijuana has been the center of the collective, it’s about more than that. Members help one another. They are a community. Valerie has spent countless final moments with members who are dying."That’s part of the gift I’m offered," she said. "I feel honored to be asked to be there."That commitment eventually pushed the Corrals to the forefront of the medical marijuana debate. They helped craft state Proposition 215, a voter-approved initiative passed in 1996 that allows marijuana for medical use."They are definitely saints of the medical-marijuana movement," said Steph Sherer of the national medical-marijuana group Americans for Safe Access.However, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has been unwavering in its take on WAMM and medical marijuana in general. Marijuana is against federal law. Period. Forget the state proposition, the feds say. Federal law is the law of the land,.And until the courts or national politicians wade into the debate, the DEA raids and arrests will continue.That irks people like the Corrals and their supporters, who question why the feds are targeting groups like theirs during a time of international terrorism.Members of the collective, meanwhile, fear for its future.No charges have been filed yet against the Corrals, nor have motions to forfeit the property that the federal agents raided. The government has a five-year statute of limitations to file an action, though.For the Corrals, the past week has been a blur. They are angered that their government has chosen to pick a fight with sick people but grateful for the support they’ve received locally. "I come to tears," Mike said while standing in his barren garden. "It all blends together, the tears, the laughter, the fear, the joy."Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)Author: Brian Seals, Sentinel Staff WriterPublished: September 16, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Santa Cruz SentinelContact: editorial santa-cruz.comWebsite: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMM http://www.wamm.org/Americans for Safe Access http://www.safeaccessnow.orgNews Articles on WAMM Raidhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/valc.htmUS Ignoring Marijuana Research http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14120.shtmlConflict Heightens in California Marijuana Battlehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14102.shtmlNo Charges After DEA Anti-Pot Raids http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14030.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 16, 2002 at 19:28:17 PT
BGreen
Thank You. I might need to see a Doctor as much as I avoid going to them I know I might. I'll wait a day or two when the news slows down and go see a local Doctor. He'll probably just write a script and call it in to the local pharmacy without seeing me. He's cool. He'll knows that it probably will be my kidney ( had a kidney infection before ) acting tempermental again. Dumb body parts acting stupid! Getting old is grand! Not! It does beat the alternative though.
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Comment #5 posted by BGreen on September 16, 2002 at 19:17:42 PT
I hope you feel better, FoM
The stress isn't good for you, either. If you have any doubts at all see a doctor. I pray for you and the work you do at CNews already, but I'll include this in my prayers.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 16, 2002 at 18:33:25 PT
BGreen
I'm with you on this for sure. Sorry if I'm slow getting back but I'm not feeling well. I haven't been feeling good for a while and I'm sure now it is my left kidney acting stupid. I had this before and I feel very tired. I'll keep up on the news about WAMM but I need to rest a little more until I start feeling better. I don't want to get antibiotics unless I'm on deaths door because they make me sick to my stomach but I will when my husband gets home if I'm still feeling this way.
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Comment #3 posted by BGreen on September 16, 2002 at 15:58:27 PT
This is what I meant, FoM
Your compassion for Valerie, Mike and all of the WAMM patients is the same compassion they themselves have for the sick and oppressed ... just like the compassion that Jesus had for the sick.It's not easy watching this go on, but I say it's something we've all been a part of for many years. We should rejoice that we're part of the same team as those compassionate souls and not of the evil nazi, anti-christ actions of the Bush administration.
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Comment #2 posted by tlspn on September 16, 2002 at 13:46:28 PT:
A valid comparison
"While marijuana has been the center of the collective, it's about more than that. Members help one another. They are a community. Valerie has spent countless final moments with members who are dying." I have read elsewhere where Valerie Corral has been compared to Mother Teresa. I have to agree with that assessment.t
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Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on September 16, 2002 at 07:22:30 PT:
Choosing Sides
To know Valerie and Mike is to be convinced of the sincerity and value of their cause. It would be divine justice if their arrest were a key event in the end of cannabis prohibition.
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