CALIF. COUNTY TO REGISTER MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 2 (Reuters) Northern California's Marin County
approved a plan Tuesday to register patients who use marijuana for medical
purposes, giving them a certificate to prove they are not criminals if
stopped by police.

The Marin program, approved unanimously by the county Board of Supervisors,
marks a fresh attempt to overcome legal ambiguitites created by
California's Proposition 215, which last year made it one of the first
states in the country to legalize medical use of marijuana.

Dr. Tom Peters, Marin director of Health and Human Services, said the
program was a breakthrough for people with serious illnesses such as AIDS
and cancer who use marijuana to ease pain.

"This is the first of its kind," Peters said by telephone. "This is the
first time a board of supervisors has focused on the patient, emphasizing
what will be helpful in terms of encounters with law enforcement."

California voters last year approved Proposition 215 permitting medicinal
use of marijuana despite federal laws which declare it an illegal drug.
Local governments in California have grappled with the ensuing legal
confusion, proposing plans to regulate the "cannabis buyers clubs" which so
far have been the main source of marijuana for the seriously ill.

Patients, however, still have problems with police enforcing laws against
recreational marijuana use.

In Marin, which lies just north of San Francisco, they will be equipped
with walletsized, countyissued cards to show that they are under a
doctor's care.

"We're going to make clear to patients that there is nothing about this
that is going to ward off evil spirits, or keep a person from being
arrested, or even keep a person from being charged," Peters said. "The
thing that we are really offering is credibility ... especially to a
patient that is standing by the side of the road at 10 p.m. talking to a
police officer," Peters said.

Officials said they estimated there were fewer than 200 people in Marin
County who would qualify for medical marijuana use and stressed that the
certificates would be issued only if backed by a doctor's advice.

Other California counties are looking at similar plans. In nearby San Mateo
County, officials have even suggested that the government itself run
marijuana dispensaries, distributing drugs seized by narcotics agents.