WAMM PLANS FAMILY DAY

SANTA CRUZ - Thirty-five years after the "Legalize It" movement caught
fire in America, a medical pot collective is throwing a public party
in a city park next month.

Expect live music, a fortune teller, "Have A Hempy Day" buttons and
medical marijuana patients lighting up in a tent.

"I remember the music festivals in the 1960s, and even now you can't
go to a music festival without a little smoke in the air," said Jean
Hanamoto of the local Wo/Men's Alliance For Medical Marijuana, which
is staging the Sept. 14 event. "Well, ours will have a little more."

Hanamoto said WAMMfest, designed to raise awareness and funds for the
collective and its chronically and terminally ill members, will be
open to everyone.

"Family event? Sure. We have tons of people with kids," she said. "And
there will be smoke, I'm sure. Our group will have a spot off to the
side so our medical patients can smoke and we're not going to make a
big deal about it.

Undeniably, there is an only-in-Santa Cruz aspect to WAMMfest's free
public fair, set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the San Lorenzo Park
Benchlands. It's being billed as "fun for everyone, with marijuana
art, hats and much more."

While there will be some pot, alcohol and dogs are banned. Expect the
inevitable jokes about long lines at the munchie booths.

The fair falls at a time of renewed public debate and legal arguments
about marijuana, with the federal government cracking down hard on
medical pot collectives despite California law allowing for their existence.

The fair, not coincidentally, will be held close to the one-year
anniversary of a raid by armed federal agents on WAMM's medical pot
garden near Davenport. On Sept. 5, 2002, agents plucked 167 plants the
collective said were intended for sick and dying WAMM members. WAMM
founders Valerie and Mike Corral were arrested and released, but have
yet to be charged.

"It is really quite remarkable we are still here and functioning and
haven't missed a meeting," Valerie Corral said Monday. "We're stronger
than ever. We're just trying to make ends meet and keep our doors
open. This is a way to raise funds and thank our community for being
supportive."

Hanamoto, an early WAMM member who said she uses pot to treat
depression, said a fund-raiser is essential because the agents in the
raid "cut our big garden to the ground (and) we're not getting
donations like we used to."

She said there are costs to keep WAMM's office open, paying a few
modest staff salaries, and also for "all the feeding and caring of the
marijuana" in small garden plots maintained by some of the members and
their friends.

About 20 WAMM members have died since the September raid, including
two who recently passed away, according to the collective. In addition
to the deaths, a few WAMM members left the group because they were
scared after the raid, Hanamoto said.

Regarding the upcoming fair, DEA spokesman Richard Meyer said, "I
don't know how the Santa Cruz police will look at it. It's up to them
to take any action or not."

Santa Cruz police Lt. Tom Vlassis said the department will "make sure
state laws are enforced, if needed. The state law is that medical
marijuana is legal. ... We are not going to target the area, and we'll
respond to complaints as they are received."

WAMM officials said they spoke with the city government and police
prior to scheduling the event.

The city and county governments signed on to a WAMM lawsuit this
summer against the federal government that aims to halt federal
incursions on medical pot collectives. The case is pending.

While Meyer said he applauds Valerie Corral's dedication - "It's
remarkable that someone would be so dedicated and want to help dying
people" - he took issue with the reliance on marijuana.

"There are many ways to help sick people, but sometimes, the way they
make it sound, the only way to help them or prolong their life is by
giving them marijuana," Meyer said.