Group still plans to to smoke pot in park during medical marijuana festival in Santa Cruz
Sep 27, 2009 Online Issue
SANTA CRUZ — City police officers could be in the uncomfortable position of ticketing ill medical marijuana patients on Saturday if leaders of 
Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana try to allow patients to inhale at their annual festival.
Valerie Corral, co-founder of WAMM, a nonprofit collective for seriously ill medical marijuana patients, told council members on Tuesday that patients needed a spot to smoke if necessary at Saturday’s celebration of medical marijuana. She said the group would erect tents near the sidewalk for patients with prescriptions to smoke privately during the annual celebration in San Lorenzo Park.
Smoking of all sorts is banned in the park but is allowed on the sidewalk until Santa Cruz’s new no-smoking rules take effect next month. To city leaders, though, “near the sidewalk” is still in the park. As a result, those caught breaking the smoking ban could be cited $70.
“Of course it’s awkward,” said Councilman Mike Rotkin, a longtime WAMM supporter. “Both WAMM and probably most of the council members, if not all of them, would rather that it did not end up this way. This is messy.”
Tags: medical marijuana festival, Santa Cruz California, WAMM
