Pubdate: Thu, 27 Oct 2005
Source: San Mateo County Times, The (CA)
Contact:  2005 ANG Newspapers
Website: http://www.sanmateocountytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/392
Author: Laura Ernde, Staff Writer
Cited: Americans for Safe Access http://www.safeaccessnow.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

FEW MEDICAL MARIJUANA VENUES HERE

REDWOOD CITY - Pot clubs have popped up all over the Bay Area since
the state legalized the drug for medical use, but San Mateo County has
been largely untouched by the trend.

And officials here say that's just fine by them.

The county soon will go as far as processing state-mandated
identification cards to medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.

But supervisors say they have not seen enough demand to warrant
regulating the dispensaries themselves.

"What I don't want to do is open Pandora's box," said Supervisor
Adrienne Tissier, who questions whether the clubs in San Francisco are
distributing marijuana to people who are really in need.

San Francisco supervisors are in the midst of tackling the sticky
subject of how to regulate the more than 30 medical marijuana clubs
that have sprung up throughout the city. They have issued a moratorium
on any new clubs.

Just to the south, San Mateo County Sheriff Don Horsley and other
local officials said they aren't aware of any clubs or dispensaries
anywhere in the county.

But a couple of people recently have come out of the woodwork.

Rob Simmons of Belmont, who claims he has run a medical marijuana
dispensary out of his home for more than eight years, is being
prosecuted on drug charges. Authorities say his operation does not
comply with state law on dispensaries.

In addition, Michael Resendez said he was evicted from his house in
Millbrae for growing what he termed a "collective garden," where a
group of patients got together to cultivate marijuana.

Resendez, a disabled veteran who has his doctor's permission to use
marijuana for pain and mood disorders, said he is temporarily living
in Burlingame and is searching for a piece of land in the
unincorporated part of the county to plant another crop.

"A lot of people are afraid of just dispensing because they believe
it's kind of like a drug house," he said. "That's not what dispensing
is supposed to be."

California law does allow patients or their caregivers to operate
dispensing collectives or cooperatives, said Hilary McQuie,
spokeswoman for the Oakland-based Americans for Safe Access.

She believes a number of them already exist in private homes
throughout the county and below the radar of officials.

In any case, there has been no proliferation of drop-in clubs of the
kind San Francisco has seen.

Officials aren't sure why there's a vacuum, but say perhaps it's
because San Mateo County residents can so easily access the San
Francisco clubs.

Of the four supervisors reached Wednesday, all said they support the
medical use of marijuana by cancer patients and others truly in
need."(If there's) anything we can do to help people prolong their
lives, then certainly I would be interested in that," Supervisor Rose
Jacobs Gibson said.

The San Mateo County Health Department is preparing to begin
processing state-mandated identification cards to patients and their
caregivers as soon as January, said John Conley, deputy director of
public health.

This is how it will work. County residents who have a note from their
doctor can apply for a card through the health department, he said.

The fee has not yet been determined, but will be around $60. Medi-Cal
patients will get a 50-percent discount, he said.

The county will verify the application and take the photo for the ID
card, which will then be issued by the state. The county, not the
state, will keep the names and addresses of all the patients and
caregivers who receive cards.

The card program was mandated by a state law that took effect in
December 2003.

The state estimates that 1,900 county residents will receive the cards.

Right now, Horsley said sheriff's deputies recognize medical marijuana
ID cards issued in San Francisco and other jurisdictions.

Conley was not sure whether the San Mateo cards could be used at San
Francisco pot clubs.

Although supervisors don't now see a need for pot club regulations,
Tissier said that could change as they learn more about the demand for
medical marijuana through the identification card program.

Only three counties and 19 cities across the state have had
established pot club regulations, McQuie said.

On Tuesday, the Santa Cruz City Council voted to create a city
department to hand out medicinal marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake