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A call for help in front of City Hall as dozens of women, many of them medical marijuana users joined forces Wednesday demanding the end on the recent raids on L.A. cannabis clubs.

"There's a stigma to using medical marijuana. One of the reasons we had the march today is because we wanted to change the face of the medical marijuana patients," says Yami Bolanos, Medical Marijuana Patient.
From treating nausea and breast cancer patients to calming menstrual cramps, thousands of women use medical marijuana, but it's often in secret.

Organizers say women are often afraid to come forward an admit they use cannabis. For many of them, it is the only thing that makes them feel like they still have a life.

"When people look at us we don't look like a criminal, we don't look like a drug dealer, we don't look like anything. We're just patients who want to use cannabis as our choice of medicine, simple as that," says Lisa Sawoya, Women Advancing Medical Cannabis.

Women Advancing Medical Cannabis sponsored Wednesday's event. Nearly 100 people, most wearing pink arm bands, rallied outside the downtown Federal Building before marching to City Hall and into council meetings.

Marijuana is an illegal drug under federal law, but state law allows patients to us medical cannabis. City Councilwoman Janice Hahn says the DEA is going too far.

"I'm calling on the federal government to have a moratorium on these raids. They are coming into our city and flexing their muscles and sort of saying the federal government trumps state rights," says Hahn.

It's an age-old debate that has left thousands of women trapped in the middle.

News Hawk: Lord Mong - http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: ABC7. Com
Author: Leanne Suter
Copyright: Copyright ©2007 ABC Inc
Website: http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?se...cal&id=5572852