Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jul 2000 Source: Bay Area Reporter (CA) Copyright: 2000 The Bay Area Reporter / B.A.R. Contact: Address: 395 9th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 Website: http://www.ebar.com/ Author: Terry Beswick CITY ISSUES FIRST MEDICAL POT ID CARDS "Today we are here to herald the creation of the cannabis voluntary ID card system," announced Department of Public Health Director Dr. Mitch Katz last Friday, July 14 before a small gathering of medicinal marijuana supporters on the steps of the DPH building at 101 Grove Street across from San Francisco's City Hall. Get 'em while they're hot. They're the new non-identifying ID cards which, for a fee of $25 and a little paperwork, the city is now giving users of medical marijuana and their primary caregivers the chance to go legit. The new medical cannabis ID card with the health department's imprimatur - but with no identifying information on them save the cardholder's picture - can simply be flashed at inquisitive law enforcement officers, proving that the city has certified them as legitimate medical cannabis users or primary caregivers (people who help a primary cardholder grow or maintain a ready stash of cannabis). In San Francisco, busts for the personal use of marijuana - medical or otherwise - are not common, according to the San Francisco Police Department. But harassment is still known to occur, and the new program is designed to take some of the worry away from those who imbibe the weed for its known medicinal benefits. The DPH program was made possible by voter-approved Proposition 215 in 1996, which also made it possible for several still-unregulated but above-ground businesses that sell pot in the city to open their doors and advertise their wares. "People know that the voters of the state of California are recognizing that cannabis has a very important role in managing the symptoms of people with HIV and other conditions," Katz added, noting that he recommends marijuana for some of his own patients. Supervisor Mark Leno, who had hammered together the legislation and facilitated the city's creation of the new card, was even more effusive in his praise for the new program. "Medical cannabis is effective, medical cannabis is safe, medical cannabis rules!" exulted a card-waving Leno. "This plastic card recognizes not only the safety but the efficacy of medical cannabis." In addition to Katz, Leno was joined at the announcement by District Attorney Terence Hallinan, Assistant Chief of Police Earl Sanders, and Wayne Justmann, director of the San Francisco Patient's Resource Center, one of the largest dispensaries of medicinal marijuana operating in San Francisco. Passed four years ago, Proposition 215 has been notorious for the vagueness of its guidance on the new law's implementation, and though a new statewide ID card program - which unlike San Francisco's may not be voluntary - is under consideration in the Legislature, local police officers, city governments, and the medical pot clubs in their jurisdiction have struggled to devise their own systems. Leno's legislation creating the city's new cards was modeled on similar ID card systems in Oakland, Arcata, and Mendocino County. "People need to understand that this card deserves 100 percent respect," said Leno, who then valiantly proceeded to attempt to garner continued respect for those with just a letter of recommendation from their personal physician. "People who don't carry the card but [do carry] the letter also deserve respect," asserted Leno, even going so far as to suggest that SFPD's Sanders would say as much. "We as police officers are bound to uphold the law," Sanders began, "and 215 passed the last time I checked the law." But the question, of course, is in how the law is implemented on the street - - and as a practical matter it is San Francisco's finest who will look to the assistant chief for guidance in this area. And if the look on Sander's face was any indication, anyone who uses marijuana for medicinal purposes in San Francisco had best fix their hair and hurry on down to the first floor of the DPH building, where they can get their very own medical cannabis ID card. "This is the valid club card," declared Sanders, ignoring Leno's physician's recommendation letter issue, and further stated that individual clubs' ID cards will no longer be honored by the cops. "This card is the only way [officers can distinguish between legitimate and no-legitimate users]. That's why we sat down and developed this program, so my officers will be able to tell." On Tuesday, July 18, SFPD spokesman Sherman Ackerson told the Bay Area Reporter that the department has "no grace period" established to allow medical cannabis users time to be informed about the new program and to walk through the necessary paperwork to physicians and caregivers, required to obtain the official card. Leno told the B.A.R on Tuesday that his office would continue to meet with community activists and the SFPD to ensure that the cops know that the program is voluntary, and to educate them on the validity of the doctor's letter of recommendation as a proof of compliance with the law. Most of the medical pot clubs in town are on board with the program, according to Leno, and are comfortable with its confidentiality procedures, in which no name is imprinted on the cards, and paper applications are shredded by DPH days after the cards are issued. Though Justmann led a picket outside DPH several months ago, concerned that the cannabis community was not being adequately consulted as the program was developed, he was first to volunteer for the not-necessarily-foolproof confidential program, and he also got the first card. Justmann had praise for all the participants in the ID card's development, thanking Leno, and also singling out Hallinan for his longtime leadership on the issue. "It started with the will of the people," Justmann told the crowd. "We found that there was a need for a program, and we found that we had a friend in our district attorney." Hallinan, one of the few law enforcement officials statewide who supported Proposition 215, then referred him to Leno to get the ball rolling with the legislation, Justmann said. But card or no card, other than the occasional police harassment or the possibility of federal enforcement of marijuana laws down the line, there should be little worry of being prosecuted for small time possession within the city limits. "If you are using marijuana pursuant to a doctor's recommendation," Hallinan stated, lest there be lingering confusion, "you will not be charged with a crime in San Francisco." - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk