COUNTY OKS ID CARD SYSTEM FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

For the last three years, Maria de la Luz Madrigal has suffered from
severe rheumatoid arthritis, so severe that pain and swelling in the
joints has complicated her everyday life.

Even dressing up hurts," said Madrigal. "The pain medicine works, but
I run the risk of damaging my kidneys."

Madrigal, 54, is one of 31 million Americans who suffer from some
type of arthritis which limits movement. Most receive medical
treatment through doctors, but some self-medicate, using marijuana as
the last resource for various reasons.

Until recently, patients that see marijuana as the "best medicine"
available were subject to arrest and faced criminal charges
punishable with jail. But last week, the San Bernardino County Board
of Supervisors ended a three-year-old battle by approving an
identification card system for medical marijuana users.

The decision came after the U.S. Supreme Court on May 18 rejected the
county's appeal based on the argument that federal law outlaws
marijuana possession and use under any circumstance, which is in
direct conflict with state law that allows persons to grow, use and
possess marijuana in limited quantities in certain regions.

Now, patients can start receiving their IDs within 45 days after a
rigorous background check, officials said. Patients will have to fill
out an application with the proper documentation at the Public Health
Department. From there, the information will be transferred to the
state for a final review.

Some opponents of IDs for marijuana patients argue that officers
would have a dilemma when trying to enforce the law.

Frank Marino, a youth outreach volunteer with the Inland Valley Drug
Free Community Coalition, said that the "county simply ran out of
options" and that they were able to keep pot cards out for a very
long time "and for that, the communities are grateful."

The county's decision to now issue pot ID cards in no way forces the
countless inland empire cities to allow for pot shops. These cities
have already banned dispensaries and although the pro-pot groups will
protest at cities to allow for pot shops, cities are bound by the law
and may not authorize the operation of dispensaries, or even
cooperatives or collectives, for the purpose of cultivating or
distributing marijuana for medical purposes," said Marino.

Since distribution of marijuana violates federal law, whether in a
dispensary, cooperative or collective, passing a zoning ordinance
which, for example, only allows such operations to be conducted in
the industrial or commercial zone of a city, would still be in
violation of the laws of the United States and, therefore, prohibited
under G.C. 37100," he said.

However, medical marijuana advocates see the announcement as a great victory.

We are happy with the decision, but frustrated that it took so long
and it cost taxpayers so much money. The lives of patients will be so
much simpler and safer now," said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the
Washington D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). "There will be
no reason to get arrested if a person verifies that he or she is a
marijuana medical user. Voters approved this in 1996, but counties
such as San Bernardino frivolously spent money before enforcing the law."

In fact, in 1996 California voters approved Proposition 215, which
allowed people to obtain marijuana for medical purposes with a
physician's approval. That led to a 2003 Legislature decision to
provide legal guidance to medical marijuana users and dispensaries
opening under Senate Bill 420.

However, Marino argued that California voters "were fooled" into
thinking that the law only applied to terminal ill patients.

We have learned otherwise, as anybody can get pot for any condition,
whatsoever, including hair loss, itchy skin, depression or whatever,"
said Marino. "We are finding lots of kids getting pot from
dispensaries and selling it to other kids. In Los Angeles alone,
there are more than 600 pot stores, sometimes four at an
intersection. They don't have that many Starbucks in Los Angeles."

Proponents of medical marijuana usage have pointed to some medical
studies indicating that cannabis can be used to treat a wide range of
diseases and muscle-skeletal disorders and that it has been used in
Western medicine since the 1700s.

But opponents of medical marijuana say other studies show that
marijuana is generally not effective at reducing pain.

Worldwide, the use of cannabis is legal in a limited number of
territories, including Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Spain,
Israel, Finland and Portugal. In the United States, states that have
recognized medical marijuana include Alaska, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode
Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Madrigal can't wait to receive her identification that qualifies her
as a legal marijuana user.

I have done my homework and I know it works, regardless of what
pharmaceutical firms or coalitions tell me," said Madrigal.