SANTA CRUZ MEDICAL POT OUTFIT ON THE BRINK OF SURVIVAL

For at least the past six years, one of the fiercest struggles in the
federal government's war with the states over medical marijuana has
been waged from a nondescript Santa Cruz warehouse, tucked between an
auto repair shop and an electrical contractor.

These days, there is unprecedented optimism inside that warehouse,
where the feisty Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana appears to
be on the brink of outlasting the feds and winning the most important
legal fight still left in the courts over California's nearly
13-year-old voter approved medical pot law.

The Obama administration, through new Attorney General Eric Holder,
has publicly indicated in recent weeks that it will not enforce
federal drug laws against medical marijuana providers in states with
medical pot laws, as long as those providers are obeying their state
laws. For WAMM's leaders and patients, such a policy shift would not
only end their six-year-old lawsuit, but also an era of raids,
uncertainty and near-extinction for an operation that tends to the
sick and dying.

The Santa Cruz case also could be the first in the country that
forces the new administration to lay out its exact policy on medical
pot in writing.

On a recent morning inside WAMM, Valerie and Mike Corral, who
cofounded the cooperative in the early 1990s, appeared visibly
relieved as they discussed the prospects of the feds finally leaving
them alone. As they spoke, the unmistakable, pungent smell of pot
wafted through the corridor outside their cramped office.

"We've been barely scraping by," said Valerie Corral, a medical pot
user since a 1973 car accident left her suffering from epileptic seizures.

For now, the Justice Department is mum on the WAMM lawsuit, which was
backed by the city and county of Santa Cruz. The suit argued the
federal government under the Bush administration had been enforcing
drug laws selectively to interfere with California's medical
marijuana provisions. San Jose U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel gave
the lawsuit a boost last summer, allowing it to proceed on its central claims.

The U.S. Supreme Court has twice found that federal drug laws trump
state medical pot laws, but the Santa Cruz case raised a novel legal theory.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello, whose office directs federal law
enforcement in Northern California, did not respond to a request for
an interview. But during a hearing last week, Fogel said it appeared
Holder's comments would apply to WAMM. And Justice Department
attorney Mark Quinlivan told Fogel the administration is evaluating
how the policy change will impact the WAMM case and suggested
"something in paper could be forthcoming."

In California, such a policy change would alter the landscape for
medical pot providers, who've been raided dozens of times in recent
years. Federal and state agents would still enforce drug laws against
providers who hide behind medical pot laws to deal in black market
sales of marijuana, but outfits that keep close tabs on patients and
ensure they have valid prescriptions from doctors appear to be safe from raids.

Legal experts say the feds will stay out of the 13 states with
medical marijuana laws as long as they regulate pot operations
carefully. But medical pot providers will not be immune -- federal
drug agents raided a San Francisco cannabis club last week.

"It could be kind of a test," said Robert Mikos, a Vanderbilt
University law professor and expert on the state versus federal
conflict over medical pot. "The federal government is telling
California that as long as you control these cooperatives, we're
going to let it slide."

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Graham Boyd, who represents
the Corrals, said resolving the case would send an important message.

"It's not just California," he said. "A number of people have been
very careful to comply with state law, and yet live in constant fear
of federal prosecution."

Valerie Corral chuckles at the notion that her operation is an easy
way for people to get marijuana.

She serves about 150 patients suffering from serious ailments ranging
from AIDS to cancer. In a room where patients light up, one wall is a
reminder of the stakes -- it is covered with pictures of WAMM
patients who have died. Corral said she makes sure only proper
candidates get pot through WAMM.

"I'm such a stickler," she says. "I'm brutal."

Sitting around a table on a recent Friday afternoon, a number of WAMM
patients said they are relieved the threat of federal raids may waft
away like so much pot smoke.

"I think it's about time," said Carol Meyer, who's suffering from
cancer. "I think the federal government needs to back out of it. The
people voted."