MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES HOST RALLY

Yuba County Compassionate Use Co-op Hopes to Draw More Attention to its Cause

Supporters of medical marijuana rallied Friday in Marysville to draw
support for their cause.

Bonnie Metcalf, spokesperson for the Yuba County Compassionate Use Co- op,
said as many as 50 people gathered at Veteran's Memorial Park during the
four-hour event.

The group also had a candlelight vigil for those members of the co-op who
have died since it was formed in 1997. About 15 co-op members have died of
various conditions in the past five years, Metcalf said.

Under Proposition 215, a doctor may recommend that patients use marijuana
for medicinal purposes.

The law does not allow patients to sell or supply other patients with the
drug, according to prosecutors in Yuba and Sutter counties.

Metcalf said the drug helps cancer patients deal with pain from
chemotherapy and the resulting nausea.

She said the group is trying to show the community they are sick people who
are attempting to live without pain, not just a bunch of individuals who
want to smoke pot.

Metcalf caregiver's, Steven King, was arrested last month on suspicion of
marijuana cultivation in Yuba City. He's scheduled to be back in court
later this month.