cannabisnews.com: New System Eases Access To Medical Pot New System Eases Access To Medical Pot Posted by FoM on July 14, 2000 at 17:05:08 PT By Demian Bulwa of the Examiner Staff Source: San Francisco Examiner It just got easier to identify yourself with The City's medical marijuana movement. Starting Friday, residents with a doctor's note and $25 can obtain an identification card from the San Francisco Department of Public Health that shows they are legitimate pot smokers. City officials and medical marijuana advocates - who planned to celebrate the launching of the program by gathering Friday morning at the health department at 101 Grove St. - say people who need the substance also need to be free of police scrutiny. "This is such a positive step to be recognized by a city government," said Jane Weirick, director of the San Francisco Patients Resource Center, who uses marijuana to help her deal with a degenerative disc disorder. "We should do anything we can that makes it easier for patients to be recognized as legitimate. This is a way we can say, "Hey, this is real. This is valid.' And it's time for law enforcement to start seeing that this is valid." The San Francisco Board of Supervisors - led by chief sponsor Mark Leno - approved the ID card program in January, extending it to patients who have a doctor's OK as well as their primary caregivers. The voluntary program is another step in instituting Proposition 215, which California voters passed in 1996 and which allows people suffering from such illnesses as AIDS, cancer and glaucoma to possess marijuana legally. Advocates have also lauded San Francisco's ID program for its confidentiality. The cards will show the person's photo, but not his or her name or address. The Health Department is not keeping a list of names or filing application documents, but rather will keep only a serial number and a corresponding expiration date. "This is very secure for the patients," Weirick said. "It's nice to see the community being treated legitimately. For a long time people scoffed and said this was Cheech and Chong medicine. But now we're being validated. This is the kind of thing that keeps a lot of us in this movement." A handful of other local jurisdictions already have similar programs in place, among them Oakland, Arcata and Mendocino County. Published: July 14, 2000 ©2000 San Francisco Examiner Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana.orghttp://www.marijuana.org/Study Finds Pot Safe for AIDS Patientshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6390.shtmlStudy Finds Marijuana Use Safe for HIV Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6383.shtmlStudy Finds Pot Use Safe for HIV Patientshttp://www.examiner.com/000713/0713aids.htmlSF Ready to Issue ID Card For Medicinal Pot Usershttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5722.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives: http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 14, 2001 at 14:02:27 PT: Try Green Cross Barbara, please contact Joanna McKee at Green Cross in Seattle:http://hemp.net/greencross/Best of luck. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Barbara on May 14, 2001 at 13:45:00 PT: Looking in Seattle Hello my name is Barbara and I am looking for a Doctor in the Seattle area who can help me ease the pain of a brain disorder I have. I am taking pills now to ease the pain but I am now having to take more and my life isn't getting any better. I would like to try and see if smoking marijuana will help with my pain thank you for any help you can pass along to me. Barbara [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: