Apply to the department of health of your county for official state medical marijuana patient identification cards. Under state law SB (Senate Bill) 420, state ID cards afford legal protection from marijuana charges for patients acting in compliance with guidelines spelled out in SB 420.
Not all counties have implemented ID card programs (only half of the state's counties have done so as of Spring 2007). For county by county implementation status and contacts see : http://www.dhs.ca.gov/MMP/County_Programs_&_Business_Hours/CoProgBusHrs.pdf For more info, see the Cal. Dept of Health Services website: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/mmp/
Enrollment in the CA state ID program is voluntary. The state ID card system has safeguards to protect patient privacy. Patient names and addresses are not kept in the state's data base: the only information retained is a personal photo and ID number. Patients need not enroll in the CA state program to enjoy legal status as Prop 215 patients (all that is required under Prop 215 is a valid physician's recommendation or approval).
Patients who cannot or wish not to get state ID cards may get identification cards from other, privately run agencies. The longest established private card program in the state is run by the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Coop, with offices in Oakland (510-832-5346: ocbc@rxcbc.org) and Los Angeles (323-852-1039: pidc@rxcbc.org). OCBC cards are available to any resident in California. They are officially recognized by police in Oakland and some other cities, as well as by private providers throughout the state. However, they do not afford the same legal protection as state cards.
Some patients have expressed fear that registering with the state program could expose them to federal arrest, since the DEA might try to subpoena their records. California NORML believes this danger is overblown. "They haven't gone after a patient yet," says Cal NORML attorney Bill Panzer, "I don't think they would. They would look very, very, bad."
The DEA has repeatedly stated that it is not interested in pursuing individual patients. To date, thousands of patient records have fallen into the DEA's hands in the course of raids on medical cannabis clubs and clinics, but no patient has been arrested as a result. A number of states, including Oregon, Hawaii and Colorado, have mandatory registration systems, but the DEA has never sought to subpoena their records.
California NORML's advice to patients is that they will probably be safer from arrest if they enroll in the state ID program.
- April, 2007