Posted on 02/17/2005 2:17:31 PM PST by Tamar1973
The state will begin issuing identification cards to medical marijuana users in Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin counties this summer, part of a pilot program in 10 counties designed to protect certified users from arrest and pot 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.
Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin counties - which already have local programs to identify medical marijuana users - volunteered to participate in the pilot program, which is expected to be on line in late July, Arceo said.
The other pilot program participants are 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 pot 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 pot patients who have doctors' prescriptions, also largely ignored the identification cards, he said.
While the new identification program is expected to halt the CHP's policy of seizing pot 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 still are being worked out, Mordhorst said. She doesn't know what exactly her department's role will be nor its costs or fees.
"There clearly is work that has to be done," Mordhorst said.
Heard they're nicknamed Snoops!
Sign up.... be harassed by the Feds.
True, but the gestapo will have to give up eventually, if the cards are legit. I'm all for it.
Bones
This is just the first step. The next step will be the refusal of Sheriffs exerting their authority to not allow the Feds to make such arrests. Remember, the Sheriff of a County is THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF LAW ENFORCEMENT IN A COUNTY.
So, six years later they're getting around to issuing cards. There you go. That shows they're taking this program seriously.
Bone up dude!
Does the Sheriff take an oath to honor the U.S. Constitution? If so, then he acknowledges that federal law trumps state law, and he cannot interfere with federal agents.
Now, he cannot be forced to enforce federal laws. But neither can he interfere.
The Feds aren't too happy with our law enforcement because our law enforcement personell refuse to help them w/ marijuana cases.
It's already ignored in the UK.
A: Got to smoke the dope. Feel bad if I don't.
Q: OK, valid health problem. Here's your card.
Boy, do I hope you are right...but I wish I could say TWO years instead. I'm tired of being labelled a "criminal" for smoking marijuana, & I am not a threat to others, so why can't the government just LEAVE ME ALONE???
And how much will it cost to obtain one?
Pretty soon.
And how much will it cost to obtain one?
Not as much as you would think.
People are walking around on the streets of London smoking openly (as long as the police are not around).
I walked past an eldery couple last weekend and the old man was smoking a joint. I could not believe it as he was dressed up like a proper Gent and was obviously well to do.
Forget Amsterdam style policy though Swiss policy is better. They let you grow your own but if you sell it to a foreigner or a kid then straight to jail you go.
Could this be a voluntary way to start the National ID card system?
I doubt it.
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