About those medical marijuana cards.....
There are many misconceptions about being a medical marijuana patient in Pasadena, and little understanding of the law surrounding California’s Medical Marijuana Program.
Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which passed with 56% voter approval, was written (1) to protect a patient’s right to cultivate and possess cannabis for personal medicinal use upon the written or oral recommendation of a physician, AND (2) to prohibit the punishment of any licensed MD or DO solely for recommending marijuana to a patient.
Arguing that cannabis was still a Schedule 1 illegal drug under federal law, political figures and law enforcement officials throughout the state continued to persecute cannabis users after the passage of Prop. 215. Pasadena citizens’ unfamiliarity with the rights protected by 215, along with the ongoing arrests of patients, brought about the need for SB420, California’s Medical Marijuana Program, or MMP, in 2003.
SB420 required the California Department of Public Health to establish and maintain a voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to qualified Pasadena patients and primary caregivers. The bill also authorized the Attorney General to set guidelines concerning allowable quantities, possession, cultivation, distribution, non-diversion and other regulations.
Section 11362.78 of SB420 provides relief from arrest in that it states, “A state or local law enforcement agency or officer shall not refuse to accept an identification card issued by the department (DPH)...” – although, with respect to the individual, a patient need not possess an ID card in order to claim the protections of the MMP and legally, according to Prop. 215, doesn’t need anything more than a verbal approval from a physician to use cannabis. But don’t expect a police officer to accept your word on it.
Becoming a medical marijuana patient is simple. If you suspect, or have established, that cannabis is helpful to your state of health, and you want to protect yourself by becoming a patient, then you must obtain written documentation from
a physician for the use of cannabis.
Your personal physician can recommend the use of marijuana, but most doctors prefer to leave cannabis consultations to their colleagues who have chosen to specialize in this emerging specialty. Be sure to go to a reputable licensed physician like Roger A. Barnes, MD in Pasadena California. His website is http://www.TheCannabisDoctors.com and his office line is 626-344-7596.
Once you become a legitimate patient under California law, then you can forget the back alley deals or dependence on friends to bring some medicine, as you will then be able to join a nonprofit collective that has been incorporated by the State of California to provide medical marijuana to its members.
As a patient you have the right to possess, use, cultivate, and transport cannabis within the state – legally.
When you become a patient, not only are you protecting yourself but you are also taking a stand for the future. We and our families and loved ones can no longer let archaic laws rule our lives and rob us of the health benefits of marijuana.
We people in the trenches, those dealing with pain, and suffering must raise our voices for reason and demand that the science of cannabis overcome the political rhetoric that stands in the way of our freedom to make personal health choices.
If you, or someone you know is suffering from a chronic condition and would like to learn more about using marijuana legally as medicine please visit http://www.pasadenamarijuanaevaluations.com or call 626-344-7596.
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