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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US: County issuing pot ID cards
CLAUDIA MELÉNDEZ SALINAS Monterey County Herald
Sunday 09 Sep 2007 Compliance with mandate from passage of Prop. 215 The Monterey County Health Department quietly began taking applications for state-issued medical marijuana identification cards last week. "We're doing this without fanfare," said Len Foster, county director of health. "It's not something that, from the public health perspective, we want to promote but are required to do it by state law." The identification cards are actually issued by the state Department of Health under a 2003 law drafted to clarify voter-approved Proposition 215. The card identifies patients who have received a doctor's recommendation to use pot to ease their ailments, but it does not protect them from federal prosecution. "Some patients are confused," said Aaron Smith, statewide coordinator for Safe Access Now, an organization that pushes for legislation to help patients get access to medicinal marijuana. "They say 'What's the point to pay $116 per card?' It's a voluntary program. Patients are covered under Proposition 215 whether they have a card, but that keeps them from having to go to jail in the first place." In Monterey County, one person has applied to get the identification card, Foster said, and Safe Access Now estimates there could be about 1,000 patients locally who need access to cannabis for medical reasons. Of those, only about 200 are likely to apply. "Enrollment in the program is slow," Smith said. "I wouldn't be surprised if nobody in the community knows about it in Monterey County." Although the will of the voters favored letting the very ill use marijuana, there are still few avenues for them to purchase it safely. According to research by Salinas administrators, only 24 cities and seven counties allow the dispensaries. Thirty-nine cities and two counties ban them outright, and 80 cities and six counties have moratoria in place. Salinas has a one-year moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries, but last month failed to get the necessary votes to make the ban permanent. City officials are expected to take another vote — when all council members are present — in the next few weeks. The ban is likely to be approved. Although California's law doesn't shield medical marijuana users from federal prosecution, Smith said that 99 percent of the pot arrests are made by state and local law enforcement officials. "Unfortunately, until federal laws change, the seriously ill are being put at risk," Smith said. In the last few weeks, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has raided 13 pot dispensaries in San Mateo and Los Angeles. A lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of a women's cooperative in Santa Cruz is making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Claudia Meléndez Salinas can be reached at 753-6755 or cmelendez@montereyherald.com http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_6859593
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