SUPERVISORS WORRY OVER ISSUING MARIJUANA I.D. CARDS

Beginning about the first of the year, San Joaquin County residents
will be able to acquire medical marijuana with a doctor's
recommendation.

The first step toward carrying out the state-mandated program took
place Tuesday, when the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to issue
medical marijuana identification cards. A public hearing on a
proposed $141 annual fee for the ID card is scheduled for Nov. 4.

County Public Health Director Bill Mitchell said that demand for
medicinal marijuana cards hasn't been great in San Joaquin County,
but he and Supervisor Leroy Ornellas wonder how many will want a card
once the card's availability is announced.

"Since the (state) law was passed, two or three people have called,
somewhat routinely, asking when we were going to implement the
program," Mitchell said in an interview after the Board of
Supervisors meeting.

Ornellas wonders if demand will explode from three people to
300.

Ornellas, who along with Steve Gutierrez voted against issuing the
identification cards, said in a phone interview after Tuesday's
meeting that he realizes the Board of Supervisors' hands are tied
because it is required by the state, but he voted "no" because of
several unanswered questions he had.

"Some of us wondered out loud if we could wait (to approve them),"
Ornellas said "We could have waited, in my opinion."

Ornellas said his primary concern is that a "caregiver" can purchase
the marijuana for the patient, but it isn't clear what constitutes a
caregiver.

County Sheriff Steve Moore said that the public needs to know what
people can and cannot do under the state's medicinal marijuana law.
For example, someone who is legally entitled to marijuana cannot sell
it or give it to someone else, Mitchell said. And it will still be
illegal for anyone to drive while impaired by marijuana, Mitchell
added.

The identification card will also help law enforcement officers, for
example, because they will know not to arrest someone if deputies
find marijuana in their car if they have the card, Mitchell said.

Ornellas said he sympathizes with people who are suffering from
disease, but he fears that allowing medical marijuana will lead to
abuse of the system.

The program won't start until about the first of the year, Mitchell
said, because staff will need to be trained.