MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARDS REQUESTED AT STANISLAUS SUPERVISORS MEETING

The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard a plea to
issue state-mandated medical marijuana identification cards.

Deborah Pottle, a former state corrections officer, said 40 of
California's 58 counties have card programs. "I'm not here to ask you
for a dispensary," she told the supervisors. The ID cards help law
enforcement officers sort out state-legal medical marijuana users
from criminals, Pottle said, and make patients more comfortable about
possessing marijuana.

Pottle said a back injury and allergic reactions to pain medications
left her with no other options than marijuana. "I ask you to
implement the card program so I can comply with the law," she said.

The Board of Supervisors also received a letter from Americans for
Safe Access, a group advocating for medical marijuana, urging them to
implement an ID card program. The letter threatened a lawsuit if the
county didn't establish a program.

After the meeting, county counsel John Doering said Stanislaus has
taken preliminary steps toward developing a program, but is waiting
for state guidelines from the Department of Health Services.

The issue came up a day after California Attorney General Jerry Brown
issued a set of guidelines for medical marijuana dispensaries aimed
at separating legitimate operators from criminal drug traffickers.

The 11-page document says dispensaries should be not-for-profit
organizations structured as collectives or collaboratives. They
cannot purchase marijuana from unlawful sources and must keep
detailed records proving that users are legitimate patients.

Several local jurisdictions have banned dispensaries. The law is
ambiguous about medical marijuana; it is legal in California and
several other states, but its use is against federal law.