SONOMA COUNTY MOVES AHEAD ON MEDICAL POT IDS

$80 Cards Intended to Shield Users From State, Local Arrest

Sonoma County intends to charge $80 a year for identification cards
that will shield medical marijuana patients from arrest by state and
local authorities.

The fee, expected to be approved today by the Board of Supervisors,
will cover annual administrative costs to supply ID cards to the
county's medical pot users, who may number in the thousands.

The county will begin taking applications for the cards in November.

"I encourage people to participate if they feel comfortable," said
Doc Knapp, spokesman for the Sonoma Alliance for Medical Marijuana.
"The bar to arrest is the main benefit. And just not having to worry."

"That's why I'm doing it," he said.

The cards were mandated by the Legislature two years ago in an effort
to clarify the voter-approved Compassionate Use Act of 1996. That
initiative allowed marijuana for medical purposes but had few
specifics about how people could legally obtain it.

The ID cards will have the user's photograph and a serial number, and
list a Web address that authorities can check for verification.

No names will appear on the cards.

However, county health officials will require a photo ID before
issuing a card. They'll also require proof of county residence and
will check doctors' notes, said Mary Maddux-Gonzalez, Sonoma County's
public health officer.

The information will be sent to the state, which will issue the
cards, which must be renewed annually.

Medi-Cal patients will get a discount, paying $40 annually for the card.

According to a county Health Services Department report, the program
will cost about $54,000 a year to operate, mostly for employee time
and some office equipment.

About 710 applications are anticipated this fiscal year, eventually
increasing to 1,900 in three years. Officials said they may adjust
the fees based on use.

Medical pot advocates, who say there are least 3,000 medical pot
users in Sonoma County, estimate half of those will get cards. Those
who don't may fear the government could use the information to
prosecute them under federal law, which does not recognize medical
marijuana. Or they might consider $80 too high a price, Knapp said.

"I think that's a lot of money," he said.

The fee includes a $13 state charge.

Mendocino County, which began its ID card program in June, charges
$50 a year, $25 for Medi-Cal patients, said Dan Taylor, assistant
public health director. So far, Taylor said the county has processed
about 200 cards.