COLUSA COUNTY EXPLORES POT I.D. PROGRAM

It's high time for a medical marijuana card program in Colusa,
officials said.

The Colusa County Board of Supervisors last week formed a committee to
explore and eventually implement the pot card program for medicinal
users.

The local committee comprises Beth Robey, director of Health and Human
Services, District Attorney John Poyner and supervisors Mark Marshall
and Gary Evans.

Passed in 1996, the Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition
215, allows doctors to recommend the use of marijuana for medical
purposes. In 2003, California passed SB 420, which allows the
Department of Health Services to create an ID card program.

The cards are intended to provide law enforcement with the means to
identify legal medical users.

Statewide marijuana advocacy groups have been pushing the remaining
counties to implement the law. Colusa County is one of the last
counties in the state to implement the program, in part because there
has been no local demand for it, Robey said.

Officials admit there has been sense of urgency to establish the
program locally.

Poyner said the county's informal system has worked well enough
without the establishment of a card program.

"I think (the informal system) works just fine," Poyner
said.

Colusa Sheriff Scott Marshall said medical marijuana laws are
confusing and have created a new kind of criminal.

"There is a problem developing with criminals ripping off people with
medical marijuana grows," Marshall said.

"That's a new problem that medical marijuana caused."

Marshall said the biggest misconception about the law is that
marijuana is legal in certain cases.

"Marijuana is still illegal," Marshall said.

"Prop. 215 cards just prevent prosecutors from prosecuting the
crime."

Marshall said it is a poorly written law with too many loopholes that
clashes with federal anti-drug legislation.

Robey said the program could be a positive alternative for individuals
with serious medical issues. She said she is curious to see what, if
any, locals will have in the program.

"In my opinion, the lack of demand for it means our informal system is
working," Robey said.

There is no timetable for implementation of the program, officials
said.