NEW ID LETS PATIENTS USE MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

SAN FRANCISCO--With $25 and a doctor's note, sick people can get an
official city ID card entitling them to use medicinal marijuana, San
Francisco's district attorney announced Friday.

"This represents another stone in the foundation we're building to
make people recognize that cannabis is a legitimate medicinal agent,"
Terence Hallinan said. "I'm not really worried we won't be able to
work things out with the federal government."

The program allows patients to avoid local prosecution if caught
possessing the drug. It's modeled on programs in Mendocino County and
Arcata, Calif., that challenge federal law.

Californians legalized medical marijuana by approving Proposition 215
in 1996, but the measure has been entangled in legal disputes since.

Health department officials said the ID card program would not have
been possible without the influence of Hallinan, who calls himself
"America's most progressive district attorney."

"When Proposition 215 passed, many prosecutors said they wouldn't
enforce it," said Dr. Mitch Katz, director of the public health
department. "But things are different in San Francisco."

Hallinan has refused to prosecute minor drug offenders, choosing
instead to send them to diversion programs. Hallinan's stance on
marijuana is shared by a growing number of law enforcement officials
elsewhere in Northern California.

The ID program announced Friday doesn't address how those in need will
obtain the drug; it merely shields them from arrest by certifying that
cardholders have a medical reason to use it.

Doctors sign a form agreeing to monitor the patient's medical
condition. The cards are good for up to two years. Teenagers can get
them, too, with approval from their parent or guardian.

"This is a wonderful civics lesson that could only occur in a place
like San Francisco," said San Francisco Police Department Assistant
Chief Prentice Sanders.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy refused to comment on the
San Francisco program, but the agency has opposed medical marijuana
initiatives, considering them to be a back-door route to legalizing
marijuana.