Boulder Daily Camera
http://www.bouldernews.com/news/statewest/22lmari.html
March 22, 2001
Marijuana ID card to cost $140
By Robert Weller
Associated Press
DENVER -- The State Board of Health on Tuesday approved a plan to charge $140 for an
identification card allowing patients to grow small amounts of marijuana for medicinal
purposes.
A voter-approved constitutional amendment requires the state to have a system in place
June 1 that will make it possible for victims of debilitating maladies to get marijuana.
Their doctors must determine that marijuana would be a better treatment than other
medications.
The plan also promises that applications will be acted on within 30 days, and officials
said they would work with possible donors to help people on fixed incomes pay for the
cards.
"I'm satisfied with the way they drafted the rules. I feel comfortable with them
because they reflect the amendment," said Julie Roache of Coloradans for Medical
Rights, the group that put the amendment on the ballot.
Several speakers criticized the amendment during a two-hour hearing, saying it was too
restrictive, and made no provision for making marijuana available.
"We never would have gotten here if we had tried to do more," said Roache,
noting there was considerable opposition to the amendment from law enforcement agencies
and others.
The unanswered question remains how patients will get marijuana since it is illegal to
possess it under state and federal laws. The amendment allows patients to grow their own.
They are limited to three mature plants and 2 ounces of marijuana.
"How's a sick person supposed to go out and grow marijuana," asked Kathleen
Chippi, who said she had been smoking it for a decade after other drugs "turned me
into a walking zombie."
Jane Norton, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and
Dr. Michael Barkett, president of the health board, repeatedly reminded the audience that
they were strictly adhering to the amendment. It does not explain how the marijuana will
be distributed.
Next week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in an appeal of a decision to
allow California cannabis clubs to provide marijuana to patients under a law similar to
the Colorado amendment.
Some speakers urged the board to make getting marijuana no more complicated than
getting other drugs, but Barkett said health officials had little latitude.
Patients whose doctors decide that marijuana will help must apply to the health
department and wait up to 30 days for their cases to be reviewed. The permit would be good
for a year.
Dr. Richard Hoffman, the state epidemiologist, said the department would try to approve
applications quickly. He said the 30-day period was set based on experiences in Oregon and
other states with similar laws.
Hoffman said a registry of certified marijuana users will be set up but will remain
confidential. Law enforcement officers will be able to verify the authenticity of
marijuana identification cards. They will not be able to get any other information on
cardholders, Hoffman said.
State officials say they expect as many as 850 people to apply. The $140 fee is
intended to cover the costs of the program in order to avoid having to use funds from
other projects. Officials said the fee will be reduced if it is generating more money than
needed.
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