cannabisnews.com: Votes Make Pot ID Cards Free in Butte










  Votes Make Pot ID Cards Free in Butte

Posted by CN Staff on November 09, 2005 at 14:57:29 PT
By Roger H. Aylworth - Staff Writer  
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record  

Oroville, CA -- Medical marijuana ID cards will be free in Butte County, and the process could cost the county thousands of dollars. Tuesday the Board of Supervisors turned down a request by the county Department of Public Health to establish a $56 fee for people applying for the pot cards. However, turning down the fee request didn't mean the cards wouldn't be issued. It means the county - and by reference the taxpayers - will be picking up the bill.
Under a state law that became effective in 2004, the county is mandated to accept and process applications from people seeking a state-issued medical marijuana identification card. Prior to Tuesday's meeting, Phyllis Murdock, director of the Department of Public Health, told the Enterprise-Record the ID applicant would bring in the required physician's "recommendation" for medical marijuana, and the county would certify the document was legitimate. The information would then be forwarded to the state, which would also certify the recommendation. If the document is certified, the county is required to issue the card. "We don't expect an inordinate number of cards out on the street. We expect 100 to 120 (applications a year)," Murdock told the board. The department estimated the processing of 100 applications would cost the county $4,383. On top of that, a $13 fee has to go to the state. That made the expected total expense $5,683 a year, according to figures produced by the Health Department. Murdock said the $56 fee was designed to just cover the expense. Representatives for the District Attorney's Office and the Sheriff's Office told the supervisors they supported the cards. Chief deputy district attorney Poncho Zarate and sheriff's Capt. Jerry Smith said the cards will save officers time. They explained that standardized tamper-proof identification cards will allow law enforcement officers to rapidly determine if someone in possession of marijuana has it legitimately. However, the lone voice to speak negatively about the proposal objected to the cost. Tom Horchler, who described himself as a medical marijuana user and "100 percent disabled veteran" from Cherokee, claimed the card fee will strike at the poor and disabled. "This fee, I've got to point out to you, is going to pull more than $20 a month out of disabled veterans who by our own government's definition are low-income people. It will cost us $21 a month just to qualify to now find our medicine," he said. While the proposed county fee was to be $56 a year, the state law requires a medical marijuana user to get a new recommendation each year as well. "I have to come back every year to my doctor and pay him $200 a year to prove that I haven't had a miracle in my life and been cured, as do all other disabled veterans. "Before you go jacking the price up on this, think about that, what it is costing the people that really, really need the medicine," he said. The fee for the marijuana cards was part of a larger package of Health Department fee increases for a whole range of services. Chico Supervisor Jane Dolan made a motion asking the board to approve the entire package of fees, including the marijuana ID cards. However, that motion died for lack of a second. Apparently feeling the motion failed because of the marijuana card item, Paul McIntosh, the county's administrative officer, pointed out the lack of a fee would not block the cards. "We are going to be issuing cards. That's the state law. This is simply the ability to recoup our costs of doing that, complying with the law," said McIntosh. Murdock tried to underscore that point. "The Public Health Department will be absorbing the costs of issuing the cards." Beyond the county's actual costs, without a fee, the $13 required by the state would also come from the county coffers. Oroville Supervisor Bill Connelly offered a motion approving all of the fee increases, with the exclusion of the marijuana ID card item. On a 3-2 vote, his proposal was approved. Connelly was joined by Dolan and Supervisor Mary Anne Houx, also of Chico, in support of the action. Supervisor Curt Josiassen, who represents the southwest part of the county, and board Chairman Kim Yamaguchi of Paradise voted against the measure. BACKGROUND: State law requires that the county accept, review and approve or reject applications for medical marijuana identification cards. WHAT'S NEW: Tuesday the Board of Supervisors rejected a proposed $56 fee to cover the cost of the process. THE RESULT: Regardless of the vote, the county is required to issue the cards. Without the fee, Butte County will have to eat the expense. Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)Author: Roger H. Aylworth - Staff Writer Published: November 9, 2005Copyright: 2005 The Media News GroupContact: letters chicoer.comWebsite: http://www.chicoer.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htm New Clinic Sparks More Concernshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20104.shtmlMedical Pot Clinic Will Open in Chico This Weekhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20087.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #9 posted by afterburner on November 09, 2005 at 22:42:35 PT
Your Doctor Is Misinformed
"My doctor says pot is a vaso-constrictor"Cannabis is a vaso-dilator. It decreases blood pressure. Tobacco is a vaso-constrictor. It increases blood pressure. "A vasodilator is a substance that causes blood vessels in the body to become wider by relaxing the smooth muscle in the vessel wall, or vasodilation. This will reduce blood pressure (since there is more room for the blood)"Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) - the major active chemical in marijuana. Its mild vasodilating effects..." Vasodilator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasodilator
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 09, 2005 at 21:56:24 PT
CBS: Legal Pot In Less Than Three Hours? We Got It
Mike Sugerman, ReportingNovember 9, 2005(CBS 5) Nine years ago this month, Proposition 215 made medicinal marijuana legal with a doctor’s recommendation.There are lots of places that advertise that they can provide they can diagnoses your need. We went to one of those places in Oakland, and paid $150. A nurse practitioner talked to me about my aches, and I eventually got a recommendation.The doctor’s order lets you purchase a cannabis buyer’s card, which you can use to purchase marijuana at any pot club in the state of California. The whole process took about three hours, and that was with time off for lunch. My card gave me a chance to meet patients like Mike Mack, who says he suffers from a terminal heart condition."I know I'm going to die,” Mack told me. “I don't see why I shouldn't be able to consume any product that will make the rest of the time I have here less problematic."We also met Leo Sailele. “I got chronic pain. I've been in the construction field for three years, and I got a tore up body," he said. "(I make) weed, brownies, all that good stuff to relax your body after a long hard day of work.”Dr. Thomas O’Connell in Richmond preaches that almost any condition can be helped with pot."Seriously ill Californians have the right to obtain and use marijuana for medicinal purposes," says Dr. O’Connell of Richmond. "I don't turn anyone down."Anxious? Depressed? Have trouble sleeping? He'll recommend marijuana."I haven't encountered anyone who has been hurt by pot," says Dr. O’ConnellThat puts him at odds with the federal government, which still considers marijuana dangerous and illegal. Other research shows that marijuana can have adverse effects on the brain, heart, and respiratory system.Is this what Californians expected when they passed Prop 215? In left leaning Bay Area counties, it received more than 70 per cent of the vote. But after a pot club moved into her San Francisco neighborhood, even liberals like Blair Moser started having second thoughts."We've seen patrons going in and out at a rate of 80 an hour, 200 patients on a weekday, 300 patients on a weekend,” says Moser. As cardholders we can buy half a pound at any given time. That’s eight ounces, or about 300 joints. You can also name three friends as caregivers, and they can each buy the same amount.As for me, I decided not to try the marijuana I can now legally buy. My doctor says pot is a vaso-constrictor, and can raise my already high blood pressure. Maybe I'll just buy those shoe inserts to see if they can help my back.Copyright: MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc.http://cbs5.com/local/local_story_314002725.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by ekim on November 09, 2005 at 19:45:02 PT
should be a great event ---right for the times
Nov 10 05 “Building the Speaking Tour Using Multiple Organizations” 10:45 AM Mike Smithson Long Beach California USA 
 As part of the Drug Policy Alliance Conference, LEAP Event Coordinator Mike Smithson, along with Ohio Patient Network representative Rob Ryan and HempRock spokesperson Lynne Wilson will present “Building the Speaking Tour Using Multiple Organizations”. Mike, Rob and Lynn will explain the ins and outs of building a successful speaking tour in any area of the country. Each of these individuals bring their own knowledge and techniques together for a very informative presentation. Location: Westin Long Beach Hotel and Conference Center. 
http://leap.cc/events/
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by ekim on November 09, 2005 at 19:33:21 PT
nanananaheyheyyaaaaaaaagooooodbuyyyyyyy
Wednesday, November 09, 2005 
Russians look at legalization
http://lastonespeaks.blogspot.com/
This is certainly interesting. 
Georgian officials consider legalizing marijuana
TBILISI, November 8 (RIA Novosti) - Representatives of the Council for Drug Policy under the Georgian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare said marijuana might be legalized in the country. "Introducing such amendments to the country's legislation will reduce the number of drug-related crimes," council chairperson Tamara Sirbiladze told Novosti-Georgia.Proposals to legalize the use of marijuana will be discussed in the near future at a special conference arranged by the council's press club.
One wonders why a government agency has a press club but it sounds like an entirely sensible proposition to me. [hat tip to Tim Meehan]
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 09, 2005 at 18:33:54 PT
Mayan
I find that I am getting angry over the whole republican administration. Anyone that is a republican after seeing what they have done to us in these last 5 or so years can't be seeing what almost everyone is seeing. I am glad that I am not trying to start out and buy my first house or first car or go to college or find a good job after college. I am not into politics but this administration is so out there in the public's eye doing all these wrong things that I can't help but get upset. I sometimes wonder why anyone thinks Bush is a good guy.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by mayan on November 09, 2005 at 18:22:31 PT
FoM
Folks are very angry right now and they'll likely get much angrier with the Bushies in power for over three more years.
The cost of fuel and prescription drugs are really p*ssing a lot of people off too. The citizenry is quickly coming to the realization that they've been lied to about the many uses of the cannabis plant and how all of these issues are closely related. These are bad times for the prohibitionists as they rely on the suppression of truth. I believe we will soon see many of them jump ship as they realize it is sinking. The momentum we have is kind of scary as it is similar to the momentum we had just before 9/11. On an unrelated note, has anyone else noticed that the very organized riots in Europe are taking place in the only three major NATO countries that opposed the Iraq war? THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...The Bovine Gas Theory: Daryl Bradford Smith solves 9/11:
http://www.iamthewitness.com/DarylBradfordSmith_BovineGas.htmlHard Science and the Collapse of the World Trade Center:
http://www.physics911.net/closerlook.htmPowerhouse Collection of 9/11 Controlled Demolition Quotes:
http://revereradionetwork.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2336
 
Weldon Accuses Commissioner Hamilton of Lying and Cover-up for Bush Administration:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=714Flight 77 Passenger's Perfectly Intact ID Card Found at Pentagon Meltdown:
http://www.arcticbeacon.citymaker.com/articles/article/1518131/36963.htm9/11: Ask Questions - Demand Answers (video):
http://media.putfile.com/Ask-Questions-Demand-Answers74 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 09, 2005 at 17:52:37 PT
MikeC
One of the things I find so bizarre is how the police speak out against the issue. My sister is a retired police woman and she was not allowed to form opinions of laws but only enforce the laws as they were at the time. When did all that change and police were allowed to speak out like they do I wonder. My sister hasn't been retired that long. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by MikeC on November 09, 2005 at 17:28:36 PT
FoM...
How right you are! Like an avalanche this momentum cannot be stopped.
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 09, 2005 at 17:18:35 PT

So Much is Happening Now
I think we can honestly say that no matter what the current issue is in trying to reform the laws surrounding Cannabis we are making progress. I believe people are angry that they have had to fight the system so hard and are doing something about it.
[ Post Comment ]





  Post Comment