Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
There was no debate. No controversy. No protest. People using marijuana for medical purposes with doctors' recommendation will be issued state-sanctioned identification cards in Kings County, the Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday.
By a unanimous vote, the supervisors adopted a medical marijuana ID card program. The decision makes Kings County the 42nd California counties [sic] to establish the program in compliance with a 2003 state law.
The program -- which advises police to accept authenticated cards as proof of medical need -- is intended to help legitimate patients with serious illness avoid arrest while giving police the tools to distinguish legal medical marijuana users from illegal stoners.
"To me this is a no-brainer, and I'm a strong supporter of this because this is not opening the gates to marijuana. This is focusing on people that (have the reasons) to register," said Supervisor Tony Oliveira.
"I'm not the one who is open to the use of marijuana personally, but I'm the one that strongly supports this. Our sister counties -- Fresno and Tulare counties -- have already stepped up to the plate, so it's time that we do the same," Oliveira said.
The decision comes as a result of July 31 ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected the challenge by San Bernardino and San Diego counties and upheld that the medical marijuana ID system is legal. Similar decisions are pending in several other counties.
Advocates welcomed the action by Kings County.
"It's a win-win situation for law enforcement and patients," said Aaron Smith, California organizer with Marijuana Policy Project, the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the country.
Kings County's decision signals the kind of paradigm shift regarding the legalized, regulated use of marijuana, Smith said.
"In a conservative county like Kings County, where a majority of voters rejected Prop 215, this shows that the time to debate whether or not to follow the law is over."
In 1996, state voters legalized medical marijuana by passing Proposition 215 dubbed as the "Compassionate Use Act." In Kings County, nearly 57 percent of voters rejected the measure.
Meanwhile, Hanford police Chief Carlos Mestas took an "wait-and-see" attitude with the program.
"I think there's truly a need for select individuals who need relief. I have no problem with that, just as I have no problem with people who have needs for prescribed pain medication," Mestas said. "But too often, this card has become an excuse for some people to carry and grow marijuana.. A number of cities have reported a spike in crimes around marijuana dispensaries.
"This is going to be an wait-and-see," Mestas said.
Currently, there is no medical marijuana dispensaries in Kings County.
Fresno County, which has recently adopted its medical marijuana ID card program, projects about 500 patients seeking the cards. Tulare County, which implemented its program in 2006, has issued about 40 cards over the past year, although officials say the $300-plus fee might have discouraged applications.
In Kings County, about 10 individuals are projected to apply for the cards, said Perry Rickard, public health department director.
Two of these people showed up to the board chambers Tuesday urging the board to adopt the program.
Charlie Ennes, 24, of Lemoore was one of them.
Ennes, a Fresno State student, said he suffers from Graves' Disease and social anxiety disorder and that medical marijuana provides him with an alternative without the side effects of prescribed hydrocodone that he takes for his conditions.
"I use it when I just can't take the pharmaceutical narcotics anymore," Ennes said." I think most people like me who have a history of taking other medications would be responsible in the use of medical marijuana. Marijuana is definitely less impeding to my functionality. I'm glad that Kings County took the step to adopt the program today."
Ennes said he has previously took a trip to a dispensary club in Oakland for medical marijuana. That's because his local doctor has been ambivalent of signing any written recommendation for medical marijuana use in the absence of a county-adopted ID program, he said.
"Based on the supervisors decision today, hopefully my doctor will be ready to write a recommendation for me," Ennes said. "It helps me to stay with a local doctor."
Joni Davis-Carter, of Hanford also praised the supervisors' decision. Davis-Carter, who identified herself as a patient of a nerve disorder called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, said the decision was long-awaited.
"It's bad enough suffering from the pain. I've been feeling like a criminal; I've just been trying to help myself," Davis-Carter said. "Medical marijuana helps relieve my symptoms and keeps me calm."
County officials say some strict protocols must be followed before ID cards are issued to patients with proven need for medical pot.
The county charges a fee of $225 per application and $112.50 for a Medi-Cal beneficiary.
The application must designate a primary care provider and includes a physician-signed recommendation proving that the need is legitimate. In addition, an electronically transmittable photo will be taken of an applicant and sent over to the state.
During a 30-day verification period, the county will verify the applicant's residence within the county and the recommending physician's licensure status with the Medical Board of California, Rickard said.
Eiji Yamashita
Hanford Sentinel
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
Copyright: 2008 Marijuana Policy Project Contact: Contact MPP
Website: County OKs Medical Marijuana ID Cards
By a unanimous vote, the supervisors adopted a medical marijuana ID card program. The decision makes Kings County the 42nd California counties [sic] to establish the program in compliance with a 2003 state law.
The program -- which advises police to accept authenticated cards as proof of medical need -- is intended to help legitimate patients with serious illness avoid arrest while giving police the tools to distinguish legal medical marijuana users from illegal stoners.
"To me this is a no-brainer, and I'm a strong supporter of this because this is not opening the gates to marijuana. This is focusing on people that (have the reasons) to register," said Supervisor Tony Oliveira.
"I'm not the one who is open to the use of marijuana personally, but I'm the one that strongly supports this. Our sister counties -- Fresno and Tulare counties -- have already stepped up to the plate, so it's time that we do the same," Oliveira said.
The decision comes as a result of July 31 ruling by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected the challenge by San Bernardino and San Diego counties and upheld that the medical marijuana ID system is legal. Similar decisions are pending in several other counties.
Advocates welcomed the action by Kings County.
"It's a win-win situation for law enforcement and patients," said Aaron Smith, California organizer with Marijuana Policy Project, the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the country.
Kings County's decision signals the kind of paradigm shift regarding the legalized, regulated use of marijuana, Smith said.
"In a conservative county like Kings County, where a majority of voters rejected Prop 215, this shows that the time to debate whether or not to follow the law is over."
In 1996, state voters legalized medical marijuana by passing Proposition 215 dubbed as the "Compassionate Use Act." In Kings County, nearly 57 percent of voters rejected the measure.
Meanwhile, Hanford police Chief Carlos Mestas took an "wait-and-see" attitude with the program.
"I think there's truly a need for select individuals who need relief. I have no problem with that, just as I have no problem with people who have needs for prescribed pain medication," Mestas said. "But too often, this card has become an excuse for some people to carry and grow marijuana.. A number of cities have reported a spike in crimes around marijuana dispensaries.
"This is going to be an wait-and-see," Mestas said.
Currently, there is no medical marijuana dispensaries in Kings County.
Fresno County, which has recently adopted its medical marijuana ID card program, projects about 500 patients seeking the cards. Tulare County, which implemented its program in 2006, has issued about 40 cards over the past year, although officials say the $300-plus fee might have discouraged applications.
In Kings County, about 10 individuals are projected to apply for the cards, said Perry Rickard, public health department director.
Two of these people showed up to the board chambers Tuesday urging the board to adopt the program.
Charlie Ennes, 24, of Lemoore was one of them.
Ennes, a Fresno State student, said he suffers from Graves' Disease and social anxiety disorder and that medical marijuana provides him with an alternative without the side effects of prescribed hydrocodone that he takes for his conditions.
"I use it when I just can't take the pharmaceutical narcotics anymore," Ennes said." I think most people like me who have a history of taking other medications would be responsible in the use of medical marijuana. Marijuana is definitely less impeding to my functionality. I'm glad that Kings County took the step to adopt the program today."
Ennes said he has previously took a trip to a dispensary club in Oakland for medical marijuana. That's because his local doctor has been ambivalent of signing any written recommendation for medical marijuana use in the absence of a county-adopted ID program, he said.
"Based on the supervisors decision today, hopefully my doctor will be ready to write a recommendation for me," Ennes said. "It helps me to stay with a local doctor."
Joni Davis-Carter, of Hanford also praised the supervisors' decision. Davis-Carter, who identified herself as a patient of a nerve disorder called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, said the decision was long-awaited.
"It's bad enough suffering from the pain. I've been feeling like a criminal; I've just been trying to help myself," Davis-Carter said. "Medical marijuana helps relieve my symptoms and keeps me calm."
County officials say some strict protocols must be followed before ID cards are issued to patients with proven need for medical pot.
The county charges a fee of $225 per application and $112.50 for a Medi-Cal beneficiary.
The application must designate a primary care provider and includes a physician-signed recommendation proving that the need is legitimate. In addition, an electronically transmittable photo will be taken of an applicant and sent over to the state.
During a 30-day verification period, the county will verify the applicant's residence within the county and the recommending physician's licensure status with the Medical Board of California, Rickard said.
Eiji Yamashita
Hanford Sentinel
News Hawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
Copyright: 2008 Marijuana Policy Project Contact: Contact MPP
Website: County OKs Medical Marijuana ID Cards
