Marijuana Policy Project Alert: Calif. February 14, 2007

Pinch

Well-Known Member
TO: Pinch
FROM: Karen O'Keefe, MPP assistant director of state policies


Urge Governor Schwarzenegger to stop the medical marijuana ID card fee increase!

As you may have already heard, California's Department of Health Services (CDHS) is proposing an enormous increase in its annual application fee for the statewide medical marijuana ID card. The proposed increase of more than 1,000% will make the program too expensive for the majority of California's patients, who already incur excessive health care costs.

Please take a few minutes today to contact Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and CDHS Director Sandra Shewry to express your outrage over the proposed fee hike for California's sick and dying patients.

Without your help, the state’s portion of the medical marijuana ID card fee would skyrocket on March 1, from $6.50 to $71 for Medi-Cal patients and from $13 to $142 for other patients. The annual state fee is in addition to a county-imposed fee for the county’s processing of ID cards applications.

After you’ve written Schwarzenegger and Shewry, would you please take a moment to compose a letter-to-the-editor to up to five local papers? Our automated system will make it easy to send a letter, and you can use our talking points as a starting point.

Although participation in the program is entirely voluntary, many patients choose to become cardholders because it reduces the risk of arrest or seizure of their medicine. In addition, some cities require patients to have ID cards to obtain their medicine from a medical marijuana cooperative. Please, act now so that no patient will face unnecessary hardship — or possibly arrest — because he or she cannot afford the annual fee.

California's leaders need to know that their obligation is to protect the state's most vulnerable citizens, not to burden them with prohibitive costs for merely filing paperwork. Please personalize the message and send it to the governor and the CDHS today!

Thank you for supporting affordable access to California's medical marijuana program. Please pass this on to other compassionate Californians.

Write the Gov.. click here: https://ssl.capwiz.com/mpp/issues/alert/?alertid=9369236
 
Medical marijuana users are paying the price for the state's inadequacy to establish a consistent state ID card program. They have waited to see what each county will do. Well, it isn't working. And we pay the price for the fact that few have taken them up on the ID card.

I believe their was a good reason to implement this program, but they have failed miserably. And we should pay the price for that?
 
I don't think greed comes into play here.. the State was expecting 150,000 MM ID cards to be issued the first year of the program.. only 8500 were issued.

Nothing in life is free.. :cheesygrinsmiley: :peace:

The State brought this upon themselves by not setting a date for all Counties to have the State mandated program in place. Just my 2 cents worth..

I like my OCBC card.. yes I do. Never been turned away up here.
 
Back
Top Bottom