Pompo

Like it or not, it's the law
County should create medical marijuana IDs
3/8/08|The Sacramento Bee| Editorial

Five years ago, lawmakers agreed on compromise legislation aimed at limiting abuses in the state's 1996 medical marijuana law and preventing prosecution of patients who grow and possess small amounts of cannabis.

As part of this legislation signed by Gov. Gray Davis in 2003, counties are required to establish voluntary identification card programs so law enforcement officers can verify that people found with marijuana are bona fide patients or caregivers.

With little controversy, 40 counties have since approved such ID programs, including Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, Amador and Yuba counties. Yet for reasons that are not entirely clear, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors hasn't yet directed county health officials to implement such an ID program here.

That could change after March 18, when the supervisors are scheduled to hold a hearing on the matter.

Regardless how you feel about Proposition 215, the medical marijuana law that voters approved in 1996, it is the law of the state. (Those with long memories may recall that this page opposed Proposition 215.) Some 53 percent of Sacramento County voters cast ballots for it, and statewide polls continue to show wide support for the statute. If anything, the ID program helps ensure that only people with real illnesses have access to marijuana, preventing abuses and shoring up voters' intent.

The situation is complicated by the fact that San Diego and San Bernardino are continuing to sue the state over the ID program, contending that federal law pre-empts Proposition 215. In 2006, the San Diego County Superior Court rejected the claims of these counties, which have since filed an appeal.

San Diego and San Bernardino might eventually prevail in court, but their chances seem slim. In the meantime, counties are legally obligated to implement the ID program, and people with AIDS, cancers and other illnesses expect them to do so. Sacrament supervisors shouldn't delay any longer. By law, they need to direct staff to implement the Medical Marijuana ID Card Program.