[Sativa]

Adult pot smokers deemed to have "serious medical conditions" can now apply for a county permit and pay an annual $114 fee to use the psychotropic drug legally with a doctor's prescription.

The El Dorado County Board of Supervisors recently authorized the Public Health Department to locally implement the California Medical Marijuana Program.

The MMP is voluntary and intended to provide patients with an identification card that could be used as evidence that they have a physician's recommendation to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. In El Dorado County, the identification card program began Wednesday. The California Department of Health Services established the MMP in 2004 to facilitate the registration of qualified patients and their primary caregivers through a statewide identification system. The medical marijuana identification card can also assist law enforcement officials in determining whether individuals using marijuana meet the requirements of California's Compassionate Use Act, also known as Proposition 215. The act exempts patients, their caregivers and physicians who recommend the use of marijuana for medical purposes from state criminal laws for the possession, use, transportation, delivery or cultivation of marijuana. However, the act does not protect marijuana plants from seizure nor individuals from federal prosecution under the Controlled Substances Act.

To qualify for the MMP and apply for a medical marijuana identification card, an individual must be 18 years of age and older with a serious medical condition and certification from a physician.



News Hawk- User http://www.420Magazine.com
Source: North Lake Tahoe Bonanza
Author: Jeff Munson
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Copyright: 2007 tahoebonanza.com
Website: North Lake Tahoe Bonanza - Region