Feorge Gorman

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<< Calif. Officials Sue U.S. Over Drug Raid
Wed Apr 23, 5:00 PM ET

By MARTHA MENDOZA, AP National Writer

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Local officials filed a lawsuit Wednesday demanding that federal agents stay away from a farm growing marijuana for sick and dying people.

The suit follows a Drug Enforcement Administration raid in September on a small pot farm about 15 miles north of Santa Cruz. Agents uprooted about 165 plants and arrested the owners, Valerie and Michael Corral.

The raid outraged residents of Santa Cruz, where police work closely with medical marijuana users and growers. The Compassion Flower Inn — a bed and breakfast for medical marijuana users — operates openly just a few blocks from downtown.

After the raid, the City Council sponsored a medical marijuana giveaway from the steps of City Hall. They also deputized the Corrals, founders of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, allowing them to cultivate, distribute and possess medical marijuana under a city ordinance.

"This is an opportunity for us to stand behind the people in our community who are the most needy," Mayor Emily Reilly said. "This is what we do well in Santa Cruz."

Seven patients named as plaintiffs have had their medical marijuana substantially decreased since the raid, hastening some deaths, according to the suit.

Richard Meyer, a DEA spokesman in San Francisco, wouldn't comment on pending litigation but said his agency's mission is very clear: "To enforce the Controlled Substances Act."

Marijuana is an illegal drug under federal law. State law in California — as well as Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — allows marijuana to be grown and distributed to people with a doctor's prescription.

The lawsuit names Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) and the DEA. >>

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