LOTS OF LOCAL INTEREST IN MARIJUANA ID CARDS

San Francisco -- As California officials are readying to start a pilot
program to issue state identification cards to patients who use medical
marijuana and to their caregivers, they had better brace for a lot of
interest -- if San Francisco is any indication.

San Francisco's Department of Public Health started a model medical
cannabis identification card program in 2000 and since then, 15,211 cards
have been issued and 8,200 are valid, city officials reported this week.

The cards are intended to help law enforcement differentiate between
medicinal and recreational users of marijuana. State law allows patients
and their caregivers to cultivate pot for personal medical treatment with a
doctor's OK.