MEDICAL MARIJUANA IDS OK'D

Solano has become one of the last counties in California to issue
medical marijuana identification cards to qualified patients.

The Solano County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 3-2 to process
applications and grant state-issued identification cards to those
referred by a physician. Supervisors Mike Reagan and Jim Spering voted
against the measure.

Starting in about 65 days, medical marijuana identification cards will
be offered at $100 for Medi-Cal patients and $200 for non-Medi-Cal
patients. That fee will be paid on an annual basis and includes state
charges.

For Supervisor Barbara Kondylis, the debate on medical marijuana and
legalization should end. She said there are much worse things in the
world than marijuana.

"This is too long in coming. (Marijuana) does nothing compared to the
harm alcohol causes. It's time in this country we start having a
conversation about the war on drugs," she said.

Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, was
passed by voters to provide a legal avenue for seriously ill patients
to use medical marijuana. Then came SB 420, which corrected some
issues with Proposition 215, including allowing counties to issue the
ID cards in 2005.

San Diego and San Bernardino counties challenged that law in court in
2006, claiming federal law superseded state law. While most counties
went ahead and began issuing the cards, 10 counties, including Solano,
decided to wait for the court ruling. The case was eventually tossed
by the U.S. Supreme Court, forcing the county to issue the cards.