Pubdate: Sat, 15 Jul 2000
Source: Daily Times, The (MD)
Copyright: 2000 The Daily Times
Contact:  (410) 749-7290
Author: Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — With $25 and a doctor's note, sick people can get
an official city ID card entitling them to use marijuana, the city's
maverick district attorney proudly announced Friday.

The program shields card-holders caught with the drug from local
prosecution — though marijuana possession remains illegal under
federal law.

"This represents another stone in the foundation we're building to
make people recognize that cannabis is a legitimate medicinal agent,"
said District Attorney Terence Hallinan. "I'm not really worried we
won't be able to work things out with the federal government".

Californians voted to legalize marijuana for medical use in 1996, but
the ballot measure they approved has been entan-gled in legal
disputes ever since.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has long opposed medical
marijuana initiatives, considering them backdoor routes to legalizing
marijuana. Agency officials refused to com-ment on San Francisco's
new ID program.

In addition to California, measures approving the medical use of
marijuana have passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada,
Oregon and Washington state.

While federal opposition to. marijuana remains strong, there are signs
that government arguments against states' medicnal marijuana measures,
may be weakening.
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