Hands off our medical marijuana

On September 23, 2002, Mike and Valerie Corral's medical marijuana hospice near Santa Cruz, California, was raided just before dawn by federal agents. They were held at gunpoint while their co-op garden was destroyed.

The raid sparked outrage from Santa Cruz officials because the co-op was a text book example of what California's medical marijuana laws were supposed to allow: a safe place for the sick and dying, with a common garden, where the patients could care for each other. The city, county, and the co-op sued the federal government.

On April 21, US Circuit Court Judge Jeremy Fogel barred the Justice Department from interfering with the Corrals, their 250 fellow patients, or their marijuana garden.¹ Judge Fogel cited Raich v. Ashcroft, the recent Ninth Circuit decision that found the federal government has no jurisdiction over patients who grow their own plants.²

The latest government study says, "cannabinoid drugs might offer broad spectrum relief not found in any other single medication."³ A Time-CNN poll shows that 80 percent of Americans support medical marijuana for the seriously ill.⁴ Isn't it time for the federal government to catch up with science and the people?⁵