Marijuana.com

Buzzby

Marijuana Cards To Be Considered
If the program is approved, SLO County would become the 21st in the state to issue ID cards to medical-marijuana users
Sarah Arnquist | San Louis Obispo Tribune | 07/28/2006

In its second public hearing on medical marijuana in three weeks, the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is scheduled to consider an identification card program for patients who legally use the drug.

If the board approves the plan, San Luis Obispo County will become the 21st in California to issue the cards. Neighboring Santa Barbara and Kern counties already do.

Tuesday’s discussion comes two weeks after supervisors directed staff to draft an ordinance regulating the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in unincorporated areas.

ID program advocates, such as Aaron Smith of Safe Access Now, a lobbying group, say the IDs help law-enforcement officers distinguish legitimate users and protect patients and their medical-marijuana providers.

California voters approved Proposition 215 — also called the Compassionate Use Act — in 1996, legalizing marijuana for medical use.

In 2003, the Legislature passed a law that requires the Department of Health Services to create a statewide medical-marijuana patient identification program.

That law requires counties to issue cards to qualified medical-marijuana patients and providers. Those names go into an online registry that law enforcement officers can use to verify an ID card’s validity.

The county has limited discretion over the program. Public health officials recommend that the county charge $75 to $100 per card, limit the number of plants per patient to six mature or 12 immature plants, and limit marijuana providers’ patient load to 10.

County counsel recommends that supervisors approve the implementation of an ID-card program to comply with state law.

Assistant District Attorney Dan Hilford suggested in a memo to the supervisors that they wait for an opinion expected from the state attorney general on whether government employees who issue medical-marijuana patient ID cards are helping someone violate federal law.

 

Sec

Marijuana is a controlled substance, hence the perceived need to carry a card to prove you can legally use it.

Prescription pain killers, prescription mood altering drugs, prescription muscle relaxers, prescription whatever, are all controlled substances as well. Why is there no requirement to carry a card to those using oxycotin, Tylenol 3 with Codine, Insulin, Vicodan, etc. (please excuse any misspellings).

I don't now, nor have I ever agreed with the notion that to use one prescription drug you would need to identify yourself to the government, no matter what the drug. It is none of the Government's business what your medical history is. That information should remain between a patient and his/her doctor.

If the police stopped someone on the street and there was a bottle of prescription pain killers in plain view in the console of the car, do the police then take the driver into custody for posession of a controlled substance? Do they call the physician and verify the validity of the prescription before releasing the driver?

If not, isn't that setting a double standard for prescription medications and those who are dependent on them?

__________________
guidelines.
Search

Buzzby

There is a distinction between controlled substances that can be acquired on prescription and marijuana, a controlled substance that can be possessed legally only with a physician's recommendation. Your prescription bottle serves as your "card": it carries your name, the name of the pharmacy where you acquired it, and the name of the physician who prescribed it.

If you are stopped by the police and are found to be in possession of prescription narcotics and you don't have the prescription bottle with your name on it, it is highly likely that you'll be detained until you can prove that you obtained the drugs legitimately.

I recently suffered a traffic stop during which my vehicle was searched. A prescription bottle of Vicodin was found in my suitcase. It had someone else's name on it. I had previously explained to the officers that I was returning from a trip to help a friend move to Denver and that we'd been sharing motel rooms. Our prescription bottles were all on the dresser and I must have inadvertently dropped his Vicodin (he has two artificial hips) into my travel kit along with my own meds. They asked me for his phone number, which I promptly gave them. They didn't bother to call him.

__________________

Sec

and exactly with which state agency are you required to register your prescription bottle.

Explain the difference between a physician's prescription and a physician's recommendation. They are both written orders from a physician. One goes to a pharmacy the other to a marijuana dealer. If pot could be acquired at a pharmacy (or "medical marijuana distributor"), and came in a bottle with your name, place you got it, and the name of the physician who "recommended" it, would a police officer who stopped you, saw the pot in the bottle on the console, arrest you?

My point is, why register with a County, Local or State agency? You have a doctor's "recommendation", acquired the "medication" legally, and are using it according to the "recommendation".

Oh yea, I forgot about the $75 to $100 registration fee. That is the reason for registering with a government agency, the money.

castklear

Explain the difference between a physician's prescription and a physician's recommendation. They are both written orders from a physician. One goes to a pharmacy the other to a marijuana dealer.

The original law was prop 215 which called it a Dr.'s reccomendation. Since it is illegal under federal law to perscribe Marijuana as its a scheduled 1 drug, it was made a reccomendation from a Dr. that would give you a defense in court if you got caught by the police. You have never seen a legal perscription for Marijuana except for the Federal program.

Then came SB420 that made the State issued card that this article is talking about. Each county will under State rules provide Cards that the police have to respect. This also allows you to grow 6 flowering and 12 vegative.. although the law also says that your Dr. can set the amount higher that the State of California amount.

Your reccomendation from your Dr. is needed even if you don't want the State card is voluntary. I can tell you from experience....and I'm in the epicenter at Alameda County...the Police have no respect for the pot clubs or the club card means nothing in court. If you have no State Card or a Dr.s recomendation then your headed for court. The CLUBS ARE NOTHING IN COURT!! not admissable!

The confusion comes with ..."Where do the clubs get it from"? No one growing outdoors on a large level? All indoors wasting huge electricity at steep California's prices....$375 a month for two 1000hps and fans....etc.

I can't wait to get my 10 patients........ got 2 already!

Lets see 10 patients @ 6 ea. = 60 plants every 4 months = 15 pounds thats 45 pounds a year divided by 10 eguals 4.5 pounds a year each. thats 72 ounces @ a rate of 6oz a month. Shoot the crap I grow the regular joe can only do about 1 a month......guess the rest goes to the clubs. And you can charge the patients for electricity for growing it.....is that the way it should be?

 

Sec

Not a whole lot of difference to me.

Both are a recommendation and authorization from a physician to have a controlled substance in a prescribed quantity.

I underatand that the LAW might word it differently, but it is basically the same thing to me.

castklear

Both are a recommendation and authorization from a physician to have a controlled substance in a prescribed quantity.


A perscription is federal.......FEDERAL.......A RECCOMENDATION IS A DR. SAYING " IF IT HELPS YOU, THEN EVEN THOUGH I CANNOT PERSCRIBE IT I RECOMMEND YOU USE IT "!

WHEN THEY WROTE PROP 215 "RECOMMENDATION" WAS THE NOMENCLATURE FOR ANY PERCIEVED PATIENT TO HAVE A DEFENSE IN STATE COURT.

SO THE DIFFERENCE IS PERSCRIPTION IS FEDERAL

RECOMMENDATION IS THE BASIS FOR STATE DEFENSE IN COURT.

RECOMMENDATION IS NOT A PERSCRIPTION AND THE POLICE WILL STILL ARREST YOU AND LET YOU EXPLAIN IT TO A JUDGE. IF THE FEDS ARREST YOU YOU HAVE NO MEDICAL DEFENSE. IF THE STATE ARREST YOU, YOU DO HAVE A DEFENSE UNDER PROP 215 WITH A RECOMENDATION.

THE DOCTOR NEVER SETS THE AMOUNT. THE CLUBS ARE NOT LEGAL. THE COPS CARE LESS IF YOU BEEN TO A CLUB WITH A LABEL ON IT WITH YOUR DR.S NAME MAKES ABSOLETLY NO DIFFERENCE.....YOU BETTER HAVE A WRITTEN RECOMMENDATION FROM A DOCTOR THAT YOU CAN SHOW THE JUDGE, OR HAVE THIS COUNTY MEDICAL CARD.

THATS THE DIFFERENCE!

IF YOU HAVE A RECOMENDATION AND A COUNTY CARD CHANCES ARE YOU WILL NEVER SEE A COURT AGAIN. THIS MEANS YOU CAN PROMOTE THE COUNTY TO GROW MORE SO IT BECOMES CHEAPER AND MORE ACCESIBLE WITHOUT THE GREEDY CLUBS WE HAVE NOW. THESE CLUBS ARE PEOPLE WITH CRAPPY CONNECTIONS AND PEOPLE GROWING CRAP THAT HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE DOING OR HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT QUALITY IS.

CLUBS ARE A RIP OFF AND WILL LEAD TO MORE TROUBLE DOWN THE ROAD....BETTER HAVE THE COPS BUSY WITH THEM THAN ME!

Buzzby

Please refrain from posting in ALL CAPS. It's both rude and difficult to read. When the whole post is in caps it doesn't serve to emphasize anything.

Sec

Castklear,

I understand the difference between state and federal. What I am saying, (and perhaps I didn't make myself clear on this point) is that I feel that it is stupid (for lack of better word) to make the distinction between a physician's recommendation for a State entity and a Prescription for Federal entity, when it is basically the same thing (coming form the physician). I feel that if a doctor decides a substance will help you and says you should use that substance, and writes it down on a piece of paper with his letterhead on it, then it is prescribed by that doctor. Just my feeling, mind you, not what the law says.

I didn't mean to make you feel you needed to yell to get your point across.