Federal agents raided the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana garden near Santa Cruz in September 2002.[1][2][3][4][5]

Federal agents raided the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) garden near Santa Cruz on Thursday 5 September 2002, meeting no resistance as they broke in, arrested three people and cut down 150 cannabis plants.[3] The agents also seized a small amount of hashish, three rifles and a shotgun in the raid.[3] Those arrested, founders Mike and Valerie Corral and collective member Suzanne Pfeil, were released that afternoon after being held on suspicion of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy.[3]

WAMM had operated openly for six years with the cooperation of city, county and sheriff’s officials, who helped define who qualified as a medical user, issued identification and let the group supply organically grown cannabis free of charge.[3] The Corrals had helped draft Proposition 215, California’s 1996 medical marijuana initiative.[3] The collective served 300 seriously ill patients, many of them terminal.[4] DEA spokesman Richard Meyer acknowledged the local cooperation but said marijuana remained illegal under federal law no matter what local law enforcement tolerated.[3]

Twelve days later, advocates joined by city leaders gave marijuana to about a dozen sick people in the courtyard of Santa Cruz City Hall before more than 1,000 supporters.[5] Mayor Christopher Krohn called the city a sanctuary from federal authorities and said its leaders were taking a stand.[5] The DEA spokesman said he was appalled by the giveaway, while Mike Corral, who helped distribute the marijuana, said the only message was that marijuana is medicine.[5]

Agents[1] chainsawed the collective’s cannabis plants; the agents said they took 167 plants, less than[1] one for each of the collective’s members.[1]