Assemblyman Mark Leno Announces Major Fee Reduction for State Medical Marijuana ID Card

SACRAMENTO, CA— On the heels of public outcries over a state plan to increase the fee charged to patients for medical marijuana identification cards, Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) today announced that the Department of Health Services has agreed to reduce the fee increase to $66 for the state portion of the ID card fee, which is down from the previously announced $142.

“As county after county began to consider pulling out of the state medical marijuana ID card program, it was clear to all involved that the fee increase at the $142 level would have ended the program. We simply could not allow patients who depend on medical cannabis for pain and nausea relief to be put at risk of mistaken arrest or detainment by law enforcement,” said Assemblyman Leno. “I would like to thank Department of Health Services Director Sandra Shewry and her team for their responsiveness to our effort to keep the ID card program intact. Clearly, a crisis has been averted.”

In late December, the California Department of Health Services, which administers the Medical Marijuana Identification Card (MMIC) program, announced that the state fee for the ID card would be increased from $13 per year to $142 per year starting on March 1, 2007. Knowing that a $142 fee would destroy the program, Leno worked to negotiate alternatives. In mid February, Leno wrote a letter to Director Sandra Shewry urging a delay of the fee hike and later met with the Director and her staff to explore possible solutions.

Today, the Department of Health Services announced that it has abandoned the $142 fee increase which was slated to take effect March 1st. In its place, they plan to increase the fee from $13 to $66 a year effective April 1st. The new fee for Medi-Cal patients will be $33. Beginning on Wednesday evening Department staff began notifying counties that the $142 fee would not take effect on March 1st as announced in December. A written notice of 30 days is being sent out to counties.

“I would like to underscore that this saves the ID card program in the short-term, but it is vital that all counties begin accepting card applications as soon as possible to ensure the financial viability of the program,” said Leno.

The California Department of Health Services, which has issued approximately 10,000 medical marijuana ID cards since August 2005, has been hampered by the failure or refusal of some of the state’s most populous counties including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, and Sacramento to implement the program. Without their participation, the program structured to accommodate 150,000 medical cannabis patients with a $13 state application fee has been unable to cover its costs as required by state law.

Thus far, the ID card program has been implemented by 24 of the 58 California counties. San Diego, San Bernardino, and Merced Counties have filed lawsuits in state court against SB 420 instead of implementing the ID card program. However, in a December 6, 2006 decision, Superior Court Judge William Nevitt, Jr. rejected the lawsuit saying that the ID card program is not in conflict with federal law. San Diego County has appealed the decision.

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