Valerie Corral Biography
- Title:
- Director of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana
- Position:
- Pro to the question "Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option?"
- Reasoning:
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“I began experimentation with marijuana following an auto accident in 1973. I suffered a closed head trauma that left me shaken by up to five grand mal seizures per day. I became addicted to pharmaceutical medication that did not relieve the seizures that plagued my life. About 25% of epileptics do not respond to medicines. I am one of many who do not. While the prescription drugs left me debilitated, I discovered that with marijuana I could completely control the onset of a seizure. For me this knowledge was freedom. By using it I am able to abandon pharmaceutical medication and its side effects.”
“A Patient’s Story, Medical Marijuana,” Newsletter of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), Spring 1994
- Involvement and Affiliations:
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- Director and Co-Founder (with husband Mike Corrall), Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM), 1993-present
- Medical marijuana patient, for epilepsy, 1974-present
- Member, Board of Directors, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
- Former Member, Santa Cruz County Drug Commission
- Member, California Statewide Task Force on Medical Marijuana, 1999
- Co-Recipient, Santa Cruz Sentinel’s 2002 County Newsmaker of the Year, Dec. 29, 2002
- Named Santa Cruz County Women’s Commission Woman of the Year, 1997
- Education:
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- None found
- Other:
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- Arrested by Burbank airport police for possession of 5 grams of marijuana; charges were dropped prior to a jury trial, 2005
- Deputized by Santa Cruz City Council (voted 7-0) to grant “authority to cultivate, distribute and possess medical marijuana,” Sep. 10, 2002
- Arrested by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for cultivation and distribution of marijuana; no charges filed, Sep. 5, 2002
- Arrested for cultivation of marijuana by Santa Cruz Sheriff; no charges were filed, Sep. 21, 1993
- Arrested for cultivation of marijuana by Santa Cruz Sheriff, pled not guilty due to medical necessity; case was dropped by the Prosecution, Aug. 12, 1992
- Quoted in: