SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — On Tuesday, March 18, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will conduct a public hearing on the local implementation of the statewide Medical Marijuana Identification Card Program. Although 40 California counties have implemented the program, including Amador, El Dorado, Placer, and Yolo as well as Los Angeles, Orange, and San Francisco, Sacramento has yet to act.
Patients and advocates from across the county will be attending the Board of Supervisors hearing, set for March 18 at 3 p.m. in the County Board Chambers at 700 H Street in downtown Sacramento.
"We are merely calling on the Board of Supervisors to uphold existing state law – nothing more, nothing less," Aaron Smith, California organizer for the Marijuana Policy Project, stated. "They owe it to their constituents, who overwhelmingly support California's medical marijuana laws. It is the duty of the county's leaders to protect their most vulnerable citizens and to make the jobs of local law enforcement easier by providing them with all the tools available. This program is a major step in the right direction."
Smith noted that the program – mandated by a state law that went into effect in 2004 – benefits law enforcement because it removes the burden of verifying patient documentation from officers on the street. The ID card provides a means for local peace officers to easily identify bona fide medical marijuana patients during enforcement stops.
Candice Works, 62, is one of many Sacramento County patients anxiously awaiting implementation of the ID card program. A lifelong resident of Sacramento and former drug and alcohol counselor, she relies on medical marijuana to treat the symptoms of Kienböck's disease, a rare and painful bone condition. Works said she doesn't feel safe in her own community because the county doesn't yet allow her to apply for an ID card. "I hope our county leaders will finally do the right thing and move to protect already suffering patients, like myself, from needless legal problems," Works said.
With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.
