COUNTY TO ISSUE MARIJUANA ID CARDS

MORONGO BASIN -- The application process for medical marijuana
identification cards is slated to begin Aug. 14, says San Bernardino
County Public Health Director Jim Lindley.

The county's Department of Public Health is the local agency
administering California's program in which eligible patients may
obtain an ID card if recommended by a licensed doctor.

"We anticipate many people applying in the first few months, so on
our target date of Aug. 14 we will start scheduling appointments for
the applicants," Lindley said.

He added that San Bernardino has learned from the experiences of
other counties and plans to have an organized and streamlined system in place.

"All the forms and information will be found on our Web site, and
we'll also have a toll-free telephone number," the director continued.

"Other counties have seen delays when applicants show up with
incomplete paperwork, without a doctor's recommendation or proof of
county residency, or are unprepared to have their photograph taken.
We are trying to avoid that by making all the steps available to
people before they come to the San Bernardino office."

The county will charge a $166 non-refundable fee per application, but
the fee will be reduced to $83 for eligible Medi-Cal patients.

Once the fee and completed paperwork are turned in at the county
health department, staff will begin verifying the applicant's
information, including performing a medical background check, the
director explained.

Once that is done, the application is sent to the state's public
health department in Sacramento.

If all the information is confirmed, an ID card will be issued in 30
days and sent back to the county health department. The local office
then contacts the applicant to pick up his or her card -- another
step in making sure the card is issued to the right person.

The card is valid for one year and enables the patient to purchase
medicinal-use marijuana at a dispensary in California, or to grow
marijuana for personal legal use.

Although the applicant's information becomes part of the state's ID
database, it is a medical record and treated as confidential.

Program a New Step for County

Passed by voters in 1996, Proposition 215 allows seriously and
terminally ill patients whose doctors recommend marijuana use to
claim an exemption from laws making the drug illegal.

Several ailments and conditions are mentioned in Proposition 215's
"compassionate use" law. These include chronic pain disorders like
arthritis, migraine headaches and fibromyalgia, glaucoma and nausea
and lack of appetite from treatments like chemotherapy.

In 2003, California's legislature passed a bill allowing patients who
have a physician's recommendation to be issued a medical marijuana ID card.

Arguing that complying with California's laws would mean disobeying
federal laws, San Bernardino and San Diego counties did not create ID
card programs and challenged Proposition 215 in court.

The counties' three-year legal battle ended in May when the U.S.
Supreme Court declined to hear their lawsuit.

On June 23, San Bernardino County's Board of Supervisors authorized a
new medical marijuana ID card program. The ordinance will be read a
second time for adoption July 14.