SAN FRANCISCO I: Supervisors Approve Medical Marijuana I.D. Card System
San Francisco supervisors approved a city ordinance yesterday that calls for a card system to identify approved medical marijuana users. The cards also would allow medical marijuana users to obtain medical marijuana at several San Francisco dispensaries. Approved by a 10-1 vote, advocates say the cards will help prevent the arrest or detention of legitimate users. Wayne Justman, director of the city's Patients Resource Center said, "These individuals who carry these cards have a great deal of stress on them already. They're sick and dying individuals." In addition to giving patients access to medical marijuana facilities, the cards "identify to law enforcement that I am a legitimate user of medical cannabis and if I am stopped ... I should not be detained," Justman added. Those seeking a card, which is valid for two years and renewable thereafter, must present a doctor's recommendation and personal identification to the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The board scheduled a second vote Jan. 31 for final approval (Harris, AP/Contra Costa Times, 1/25).
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