WAMM Takes Down the DEA

Great Moments in Weed History

David Bienenstock

Tv & Film, Comedy, History

4.8 • 659 Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2019

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1973, twenty-year-old Valerie Leveroni Corral was riding in a Volkswagen bug through the Nevada desert when a small airplane swooped down low enough that its torque caused the vehicle to careen end-over-end. Valerie was flung against the roof and doors, causing brain damage, epilepsy and debilitating migraines. She was then prescribed a staggering range of pharmaceuticals to deal with the aftermath, but they proved largely ineffective in stopping her convulsions and grand mal seizures. And the side-effects left her a zombie. Then her husband Mike read about a government-funded research paper that showed unique compounds found in cannabis can reverse the growth of cancerous tumors and help control laboratory-induced seizures. What happened next is a story of resistance and resilience that involved an iconic weed garden, an armed police raid, a barricade of cannabis patients in wheelchairs and walkers, and a standoff on the steps of City Hall pitting the Wo/men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) against the DEA. Also in this episode, Abdullah fondly remembers hosting episodes of the VICE culinary cannabis show Bong Appetit featuring the legendary Nonna Marijuana—a.k.a. Valerie’s mother! Learn more about WAMM with the book Dying to Get High and the documentary film La Vie En Vert. Catch the incredible Nonna Marijuana holiday special of Bong Appetit with Abdullah as host. Learn more about Prop 215 co-author Dennis Peron in our Great Moments in Weed History episode from Season 1. WAMM wishes to offer special thanks to a grower known as "Dr. John" (not the late musician) for helping to supply them with cannabis after their earliest arrests and garden confiscations. WAMM also wishes to stress the key role played by the LGBTQ+ community and AIDS/HIV activists in helping to organize and operate the collective. PATREON Please support Great Moments in Weed HIstory on Patreon. Supporters get exclusive access to video shows and seshes, plus access to cool rewards like a signed book or signature lighter. And it truly helps us make the best show possible.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is for adults 21 years of age or older.
0:04.1	We talk about cannabis history and advertise cannabis products.
0:07.6	If you're not 21, come back when you are.
0:13.0	Spoke Media.
0:15.9	Howdy-do folks? It's Abdullah and Bean.
0:18.9	And welcome back for yet another episode of great moments in
0:24.7	weed history. On this show, Bean and I, who are both cannabis journalists and media makers,
0:30.9	go over one of the more fascinating points in the very, very long history of cannabis. I have no prior knowledge of the story
0:39.0	that Bean's about to tell us.
0:40.2	You and I are going to hear it for the first time,
0:42.5	except I get to sit here and smoke weed with Bean
0:45.2	as he tells us this incredible story.
0:48.5	I can't wait to hear what today's story is, Bean,
0:51.5	what the FD you got for us.
0:53.8	Today's story, I honestly would say, is one of the greatest moments in weed history.
1:01.6	It's about people that we both know.
1:04.1	We've spent time with.
1:05.2	And it's a story that to me encapsulates everything that's amazing about cannabis culture, weed culture,
1:15.2	this community, and how this community has pushed back against the forces of authoritarian
1:22.3	bullshit and change the world in the process. Well, it sounds like it has all my favorite, favorite elements
1:30.8	for a weed story to have, sticking it to the man, blowing weed smoke into the face of authority.
1:37.5	I don't know what it is, man. Like, you know, my mind is racing going through all these incredible
	...

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