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Alameda County supervisors vote to issue IDs for marijuana users
Starting Aug. 1, Alameda County will issue medical marijuana
identification cards that will be recognized by county marijuana
dispensaries and by law enforcement statewide.
identification cards that will be recognized by county marijuana
dispensaries and by law enforcement statewide.
County supervisors vote to issue IDs for marijuana users
$50 fee will be lessened for Medi-Cal patients
Oakland Tribune
7/12/2006
Starting Aug. 1, Alameda County will issue medical marijuana
identification cards that will be recognized by county marijuana
dispensaries and by law enforcement statewide.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to set a $50
fee for the cards, which will be issued by the Oakland Cannabis
Buyers' Cooperative. Board President Keith Carson was absent.
The cards will be the only ones recognized by marijuana dispensaries
in the county's unincorporated areas, according to a county staff
report.
The cards will be part of a statewide identification system and will
be recognized by state and local law enforcement, according to the
staff report.
County public health management analyst Pam Willow said 20 counties
are providing the cards so far, though two — San Diego and San
Bernardino — have launched court challenges questioning their
obligation to provide marijuana or the identification cards.
The public health department estimates about 10,000 of the cards will
be issued in the county each year, and that about a quarter of the
people applying for the cards will qualify for a Medi-Cal fee
reduction that will cut the cost of the card in half.
Patients will need to provide proof of identity, a doctor's
recommendation for the marijuana and proof of Alameda County
residency. The cards will be good for one year.
Contact Rebecca Vesely at rvesely [at] angnewspapers.com.
$50 fee will be lessened for Medi-Cal patients
Oakland Tribune
7/12/2006
Starting Aug. 1, Alameda County will issue medical marijuana
identification cards that will be recognized by county marijuana
dispensaries and by law enforcement statewide.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 Tuesday to set a $50
fee for the cards, which will be issued by the Oakland Cannabis
Buyers' Cooperative. Board President Keith Carson was absent.
The cards will be the only ones recognized by marijuana dispensaries
in the county's unincorporated areas, according to a county staff
report.
The cards will be part of a statewide identification system and will
be recognized by state and local law enforcement, according to the
staff report.
County public health management analyst Pam Willow said 20 counties
are providing the cards so far, though two — San Diego and San
Bernardino — have launched court challenges questioning their
obligation to provide marijuana or the identification cards.
The public health department estimates about 10,000 of the cards will
be issued in the county each year, and that about a quarter of the
people applying for the cards will qualify for a Medi-Cal fee
reduction that will cut the cost of the card in half.
Patients will need to provide proof of identity, a doctor's
recommendation for the marijuana and proof of Alameda County
residency. The cards will be good for one year.
Contact Rebecca Vesely at rvesely [at] angnewspapers.com.
For more information:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribun...
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IMC Network
by Tristin Coffman
Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative director Jeff Jones confirmed
May 30 that his organization has been awarded the agency contract to
issue the Alameda County patient ID cards as part of SB 420. He said
that the popular and well-received non-governmental OCBC card will
continue to be an option offered by the group for all patients and
caregivers that live in the State. The state ID card will be handled
like a drivers license application, with information submitted and
authenticated, a photo taken and a card picked up later at the center
or issued by mail, with some records kept for purposes of county
audit. The OCBC card will continue to be a option for patients or
caregivers that do not want to be on the State list. OCBC plans on
opening a Southern California ID Center by later this fall, to offer
more support for patients statewide.
“OCBC Members will continue to be part of the largest patient
group in the country, although it is not clear if some protections
offered by the state ID program will limit the legal protection of
carrying your OCBC card and physicians statement,” said Jones.
Alameda County Patient Services (the new DBA that OCBC set up) starting
Aug 1, 2006 but we will only be able to sign up local Alameda County
patients for this new State ID Card. OCBC intends to still issue OCBC ID
cards and work with local cities or counties that have regulated medical
cannabis providers and placed in their regulations that only State ID
cards will be taken to allow patients to use this providers. We feel
this is not what Prop 215 intended nor is it right to discriminate
against patients that choose to not get the new state ID. We hope that
ASA and other patient advocates will help in this effort to not let
local governments restrict what patient can be help by provider collectives.
Jeff Jones
Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative/ Alameda County Patient Services
1733 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612
510 832-5346
by Chris Metinko, Contra Costa Times
April 11th, 2006
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved a contract for a company to provide identification cards to medical marijuana users in the county.
Alameda County Patient Services and its parent company, OCB Cooperative Inc., will be in charge of verifying applicants' eligibility and need for medical marijuana, as well collecting fees and issuing the cards.
Jeff Jones, executive director of OCB, said that while the cards are not mandatory, they may be useful to people who fear legal hassles from police or are worried about entering a dispensary to buy medical marijuana. Currently, a patient needs only proof that he or she is a resident of the state and a doctor's note prescribing use of marijuana.
Jones estimates there are between 7,000 and 12,000 medical marijuana users in Alameda County. The identification cards will expire after one year.
The Alameda County Public Health Department decided to contract the identification card program to an outside business because the department lacks the resources and knowledge necessary to run it.