CHARGES DROPPED IN CORRAL POT-POSSESSION CASE

Misdemeanor pot possession charges against local medical marijuana
advocate Valerie Corral were dropped Thursday, but the fight isn't
completely over.

Aided by the American Civil Liberties Union, Corral said she will
battle to get back the confiscated pot and seek a change in how the
city of Burbank addresses medical marijuana laws.

Corral was charged July 27 for possessing a small amount, about 5
grams, of pot while passing through security at the Bob Hope Airport
in Burbank.

She along with husband Mike are co-founders of the Santa Cruz-based
Wo/mens Alliance for Medical Marijuana.

Though only a misdemeanor that carried a $100 fine, Corral planned to
fight the charge and go to a jury trial.

At a pre-trial hearing Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court
the charges were dropped, said Anjuli Verma, advocacy director of the
American Civil Liberties Unions Drug Law Reform Project in Santa Cruz.

"What would have come out in court is that the city of Burbank has a
policy of prosecuting medical marijuana patients they know are
innocent," Verma said.

Corral and the ACLU say they plan to try to get prosecutors to
stipulate that she is innocent and will seek return of the marijuana
that was confiscated.

"Were going to get our medicine back," Corral said by cell phone
Thursday. "Every gram is important for this organization."Corral and
the ACLU also want Burbank to abide by Californias 1996 Compassionate
Use Act, Verma said.

Corrals pot was in a small plastic bag along wither her Santa Cruz
County-issued medical marijuana identification card.

A phone call to the Burbank City Attorneys office was not returned.

California voters approved the Compassionate Use Act, or Proposition
215, in 1996.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June held that federal authorities may
prosecute federal marijuana charges regardless of what laws a state has passed.

California Attorney General Bill Lockyer subsequently opined that the
ruling had no impact on the validity of California law.