On August 28th, the new Santa Cruz County chapter of Americans for Safe Access (ASA) held a fundraiser at the Trout Farm Inn on E. Zayante Rd. in Felton, CA. It was the local chapter’s first public event.
Americans for Safe Access, based in Oakland, is the largest member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens working to ensure safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic uses and research. ASA works in partnership with state, local and national legislators to create policies that improve access to medicinal marijuana for both patients and researchers. ASA claims to have over 30,000 active members with chapters and affiliates in more than 40 states.
Gail, a member of the Wo/Man’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) who was born with glaucoma and is blind, was grateful for the opportunity to meet and socialize with others who benefit, physically and mentally, from cannabis. As an eighteen year old student at UC Santa Cruz, Gail was passed a joint for the first time. That is when she discovered that marijuana eases the pain she experiences from glaucoma. Read More and View Photos
Red, a participant in the Peace Camp 2010 protest against the 
“One Big Earthquake and You’re All Homeless” was the hand-written message greeting travelers at Ocean and Water, one of the busiest intersections in Santa Cruz County, on Tuesday afternoon, August 10th. The message was displayed by Red and Crow, participants of the Peace Camp 2010 demonstration at the courthouse, who also displayed a sign stating “End the Sleeping Ban”.
Photo by Bradley, August 9, 2010, downtown Santa Cruz.
On the night of Sunday, August 8th, eight deputies arrived around 11pm to harass, interrogate and cite two more Peace Camp stalwarts, Chris Doyon and Collette Connally, as they tried to sleep. The wet cold night held health problems for Doyon who said he’d picked up pneumonia after being held for four hours in handcuffs in a police van on Saturday morning, and then stripped of most of his clothes in jail. 
