SUPERVISORS OK COUNTY MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD The county has a medical marijuana identification card program, now that the county Board of Supervisors has given its final OK. A 2003 state law requires counties to issue cards to qualified medical marijuana patients and their primary caregivers. Their names then go into an online registry that law enforcement officers can use to verify an ID card's validity. Supervisors voted unanimously without any discussion to create an ordinance that establishes a $78 fee for the ID program, which will pay for the program. People with Medi-Cal benefits will be charged $39 for an ID card. The program is up and running through the county Public Health Department. The program limits the amount of marijuana a person can have at one time to 8 ounces, six mature plants or 12 immature plants. San Luis Obispo County is the 21st in California to issue the cards. Neighboring Santa Barbara and Kern counties already do. San Luis Obispo County currently has one marijuana dispensary operating in Morro Bay. Before moving forward with the program this summer, supervisors discussed at length the discrepancies between state and federal law regarding marijuana use. Federal law prohibits the use or sale of marijuana. In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215 -- also known as the Compassionate Use Act -- legalizing marijuana for medical use. Following a public hearing on Aug. 1, supervisors directed the public health officials in a 3-2 vote to implement a medical marijuana ID program as mandated by state law. Supervisors Jerry Lenthall and Harry Ovitt dissented then, saying it violated federal law.

Pubdate: Thu, 16 Nov 2006 Source: Tribune, The (San Luis Obispo, CA) Copyright: 2006 The Tribune Contact: letters@thetribunenews.com Website: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/391 Author: Sarah Arnquist Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal) __________________________________________________________________________ Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake