POT CLUB STRUGGLES FOR FINANCIAL SURVIVAL

SANTA CRUZ -- Santa Cruz's oldest marijuana club has seen a
precipitous drop in donations that sustain the organization since the
federal government raided its gardens five years ago, and organizers
are worried they will have to scale back their operations or even close.

Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana has reduced the amount of
marijuana given away as it struggles to stay in business and continue
serving its 175 members, many seriously ill with terminal cancer or
AIDS.

"It's dire," WAMM co-founder Mike Corral said. "Not too far in the
future we'll run out of what's available in our bank accounts now.
It's a matter of months not a year or years"

The organization, which opened in April 1993 to grow a communal
marijuana garden for patients to share, costs about $150,000 to
operate each year, Corral said.

Donations, which they depend on for the bulk of their budget, have
been down at least 60 percent for the past couple of years, he said.

Money problems for WAMM started after a raid by the federal Drug
Enforcement Agency in September 2002 when the pot farm was stripped
clean and 130 of the organization's marijuana plants were seized.
Corral and his wife, Valerie Corral, were arrested during the raid.

Since then, membership has fallen slightly and donations have dropped
dramatically, which has made it difficult to take care of existing
patients, Corral said.

The organization has asked patients to cut back on the amount of
marijuana they use to make sure there's enough for everyone who needs
it, he said.

Faced with the prospect of closing their administrative office on
Almar Avenue in Santa Cruz, WAMM has made a plea by writing e-mails to
the public to contribute $5 a month so "we can keep this vision alive"

"If each of us contributes as little a $5 a month, we can move
political history," Valerie Corral wrote in an e-mail. "That's one
trip to Starbucks, less than a movie"

Ken Sampson, owner of the Santa Cruz Patient Collective, a place for
medical marijuana patients to buy the drug, received the Corrals'
e-mail and is concerned for WAMM's future.

"They're extremely vital," Sampson said. "They're basically the
grassroots of the medical marijuana movement. I'm looking to do what I
can to help"

If the pot club were to close, many sick people would be at a
loss.

"If WAMM were to fold, very poor people would be unable to find
medicine," Corral said. "It would cost the city and county more money
to supply the services we supply"

Marijuana became legal in California in 1996 for people with serious
illnesses, however, the federal government considers the drug illegal
and has the authority to confiscate marijuana, even if it's used for
medicinal purposes.

The Corrals have been involved in a series of lawsuits against the
federal government during the past 10 years to defend their right to
use and distribute medical marijuana. Their legal cases have been
covered by pro bono attorneys and are not eating into their operation
budget, Corral said.