Pubdate: Thu, 21 Aug 2003
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel (CA)
Copyright: 2003 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/394
Author: Brian Seals
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Valerie+Corral

MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD PROGRAM LAUNCHED

A county-operated program to issue identification cards to medical marijuana
users was launched this week, and backers hope it will ease concerns of
patients and police.

The effort is aimed at helping police identify patients and caregivers
legitimately using marijuana.

County Supervisor Mardi Wormhoudt said the cards mean patients and caregivers
will have less to worry about when they possess marijuana for medical use.

"People feel very vulnerable," Wormhoudt said. "To add to that burden to people
who are already suffering is adding another layer of difficulty that shouldn't
be there."

Patients are required to offer documentation before obtaining a card:

*- A photo identification card.

*- Proof of Santa Cruz County residence.

*- An original doctor's recommendation, signed by a physician licensed in
California.

*- $35 in cash, check or money order. The cards are valid for three years and
the program is self-funded.

Three cards were issued this week as sort of a trial run.

"We had some brave souls come forward who helped us work out the kinks," said
Betsy McCarty, county chief of public health.

One of them was Valerie Corral, co-founder of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical
Marijuana. The alliance issues cards for its members, but the county program
offers identification for people unable to be served by the group.

Corral lauded the program for not keeping records of the patient or doctor
after a card is issued, offering protection for doctors and patients from
federal scrutiny. But some medical marijuana advocates are skeptical of the
promise of anonymity.

"There's no way anybody can convince me there's not some kind of record," said
Andrea Tischler of the Compassion Flower Inn in Santa Cruz.

The county will only keep track of the money taken in and the number of cards
issued and denied, McCarty said.

The program's supporters also say it helps prevent patients from needless or
mistaken police attention.

"This offers an opportunity for any Santa Cruz County resident to have some
immediate protection," Corral said.

The county Sheriff's Office supports the cards. Deputies say there has been
confusion since Proposition 215 passed in 1996. The voter-approved initiative
provided for medical marijuana in the state.

"We're cops, we're not health-care providers," sheriff's spokesman Kim Allyn
said. "One of the issues (we face) is who is a bona fide medical marijuana
patient. That makes this piece of identification viable."

McCarty said the cards can be processed within a day, though that depends on
the timelines of the physician responding for verification.

Appointments for the cards can be made by calling the county Health Services
Agency at 454-3431.
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