COUNTY TO DISTRIBUTE MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARDS

Cards To Be Available Within 45 Days

SAN BERNARDINO - After resisting California's medical-marijuana law for
years, San Bernardino County will begin distributing medical marijuana
cards within the next 45 days, said county spokesman David Wert.

County supervisors decided in a closed session meeting this morning to
roll out the process for handing out the state-issued cards, which will
allow law enforcement to quickly verify a medical marijuana patient
through an online database.

Next week, Wert said representatives from the state Department of Health
Services are visiting the county to provide training to public health
workers on the distribution process.

The county's decision comes less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court
refused to hear an appeal by San Bernardino and San Diego counties arguing
they didn't have to comply with distributing the cards because federal law
against medical marijuana surpassed state law.

More than 40 of the state's 58 counties already issue such cards. To get
one, patients must show proof of residency, provide a doctor's
recommendation and pay a roughly $150 fee.