Pubdate: Sun, 20 Feb 2005
Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Knight Ridder
Contact:  http://www.contracostatimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/96
Author: Glenda Anderson, Santa Rosa Press Democrat
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

STATE WILL ISSUE ID CARDS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS THIS SUMMER

SANTA ROSA - California will begin issuing identification cards to medical 
marijuana users in 10 counties this summer, part of a pilot program 
designed to protect certified users from arrest and marijuana seizures.

The voluntary ID card program, developed by the state Department of Health 
Services, will be expanded statewide by year's end, said Norma Arceo, a 
spokeswoman for the department.

Law enforcement officials hailed the move, saying it will simplify a 
confusing patchwork of local policies and make it easier to distinguish 
between legal marijuana users and criminals.

"I think it's good news for everybody," said Mendocino County Sheriff Tony 
Craver, who helped start the first county medical marijuana program in 
California in 1999.

The state ID cards, required under a 2003 law, have been on hold because 
the Legislature hadn't authorized funding to launch the program, Arceo 
said. Legislators approved $983,000 last year to implement the law, 
sponsored by former state Sen. John Vasconcellos.

Some counties already have local programs to identify medical marijuana 
users, and volunteered to participate in the pilot program, which is 
expected to be on line in late July, Arceo said.

The pilot program participants are Sonoma, Mendocino, Marin, Del Norte, 
Trinity, Shasta, Amador, Santa Cruz, Sacramento and Yuba counties.

The cards will make it easier for law enforcement officers to know whether 
people they find with marijuana possess it legally, Sonoma County Sheriff 
Bill Cogbill said. If they do, officers can simply walk away rather than 
investigate the case.

"I'm all for it," he said.

Medical marijuana activists also were pleased.

"It's a good step in the right direction," said Dane Wilkins, director of 
the North Coast office of the National Organization for the Reform of 
Marijuana Laws, which pushed for implementation of the law.

Some counties, including Mendocino, initiated local ID card programs to 
allow authorized medical users to possess marijuana without fear of arrest 
while the state worked out the kinks in Proposition 215, the 1996 
initiative that legalized marijuana for medical purposes.

But local identification cards often weren't recognized by other cities and 
counties, Craver said.

The CHP, which is being sued for allegedly arresting medical marijuana 
patients who have doctors' prescriptions, also largely ignored the 
identification cards, he said.

Although the new identification program is expected to halt the CHP's 
policy of seizing marijuana they find in vehicles, it won't affect federal 
law enforcement agencies. Federal law treats all marijuana as illegal.

To implement the program, the state Department of Health Services will 
begin verifying physician recommendations for marijuana, which will be 
collected and processed by county health departments.

All card holders will be listed on a secure Web site, which can be accessed 
24 hours a day only by law enforcement, Arceo said.

Applicants will pay an as yet undetermined fee to obtain the cards. The 
fees, which will be collected by counties, will cover local and state costs 
of maintaining the program, Mendocino County Public Health Director Carol 
Mordhorst said.

However, many of the details are being worked out, Mordhorst said. She 
doesn't know what exactly her department's role will be or its costs or fees.

"There clearly is work that has to be done," Mordhorst said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth