provide legal protection, Santa Cruz deputized the Corrals in 2000 to act as medical marijuana providers. Members According to WAMM, many members have either a terminal or serious illness. Between the years 1993 and 2010, 223 members of WAMM died. In 2009, WAMM director Valerie Corral stated that the collective had roughly 24 minors members. Hospice care Corral founded a hospice care center for patients who use medical marijuana to alleviate symptoms associated with various terminal diseases and conditions. She has provided personal care and comfort to hundreds of individuals during their palliative care, including Laura Huxley, with whom she was a close personal friend. Close to 200 WAMM members have died since the group's conception. Valerie Corral has been by the bedside of most. DEA raid On September 5, 2002, federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided the WAMM garden weeks prior to their annual harvest, arrested the Corrals, and destroyed all of the collective's medicinal marijuana plants, (150 plants). The Corrals were detained and later released. The government never filed charges, though the Corrals decided to challenge the federal ban with assistance from Santa Clara University law professor Gerald Uelmen and advocates at the Drug Policy Alliance. The raid was condemned by many high profile individuals, including then-California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, former Vice Mayor of Santa Cruz Emily Rielly, and all the members of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors that were serving at the time. Several weeks later, WAMM handed out medical marijuana on the steps of city hall in Santa Cruz, California. WAMM members, (whose illnesses include multiple sclerosis, cancer, and AIDS), came out in support of their organization. Many protests and media articles followed the raid, and the DEA received unfavorable worldwide media attention as a result of the raid against the terminally ill. Post raid Despite the raid in 2002, Valerie and Mike Corral continue to operate WAMM out of Santa Cruz. Valerie played a key role in drafting SB 420, which expanded many definitions and provisions for patients in California. Support from City of Santa Cruz The City of Santa Cruz has been explicitly supportive of WAMM and its activities. Following the 2002 raid, WAMM was permitted to dispense medicinal cannabis to its members on the steps of City Hall. In 2003, in solidarity with the collective, the City of Santa Cruz sued the federal government for raiding WAMM