CITY LEADERS TO PASS OUT POT TO SICK

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - City leaders plan to join medical marijuana users at a
pot giveaway at City Hall next week, hoping to send a message to federal
authorities that, in this town, medical marijuana is welcome.

The invitation comes one week after agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency
arrested the high-profile owners of a pot farm and confiscated 130 plants
that had been grown for use as medicine.

"It's just absolutely loathsome to me that federal money, energy and staff
time would be used to harass people like this," said vice mayor Emily
Reilly, who with several City Council colleagues plans to pass out medical
marijuana to sick people from the garden-like courtyard at City Hall on
Tuesday.

Though the council passed a resolution denouncing the DEA raid, there is no
official city sponsorship of the giveaway - council members and medical
marijuana advocates are simply acting on their own in a public space, said
City Attorney John Barisone.

DEA spokesman Richard Meyer was surprised at the plan.

"Are you serious? That's illegal. It's like they're flouting federal law,"
he said. "I'm shocked that city leaders would promote the use of marijuana
that way. What is that saying to our youth?"

State law in California, as well as Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Nevada, Oregon and Washington, allows marijuana to be grown and distributed
to people with a doctor's prescription. Federal law prohibits marijuana use
under any circumstances.

In recent months, federal agents have been busting pot clubs and farms in
Northern California, including a small farm last week about 55 miles south
of San Francisco, arresting owners Valerie and Michael Corral.

They were not indicted, and their attorney said federal authorities do not
plan to prosecute.