Section 11362.71 Of Article 2.5. Medical Marijuana Program From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 10. >> Chapter 6. >> Article 2.5.
11362.71
. (a) (1) The department shall establish and maintain a
voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to
qualified patients who satisfy the requirements of this article and
voluntarily apply to the identification card program.
(2) The department shall establish and maintain a 24-hour,
toll-free telephone number that will enable state and local law
enforcement officers to have immediate access to information
necessary to verify the validity of an identification card issued by
the department, until a cost-effective Internet Web-based system can
be developed for this purpose.
(b) Every county health department, or the county's designee,
shall do all of the following:
(1) Provide applications upon request to individuals seeking to
join the identification card program.
(2) Receive and process completed applications in accordance with
Section 11362.72.
(3) Maintain records of identification card programs.
(4) Utilize protocols developed by the department pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).
(5) Issue identification cards developed by the department to
approved applicants and designated primary caregivers.
(c) The county board of supervisors may designate another
health-related governmental or nongovernmental entity or organization
to perform the functions described in subdivision (b), except for an
entity or organization that cultivates or distributes marijuana.
(d) The department shall develop all of the following:
(1) Protocols that shall be used by a county health department or
the county's designee to implement the responsibilities described in
subdivision (b), including, but not limited to, protocols to confirm
the accuracy of information contained in an application and to
protect the confidentiality of program records.
(2) Application forms that shall be issued to requesting
applicants.
(3) An identification card that identifies a person authorized to
engage in the medical use of marijuana and an identification card
that identifies the person's designated primary caregiver, if any.
The two identification cards developed pursuant to this paragraph
shall be easily distinguishable from each other.
(e) No person or designated primary caregiver in possession of a
valid identification card shall be subject to arrest for possession,
transportation, delivery, or cultivation of medical marijuana in an
amount established pursuant to this article, unless there is
reasonable cause to believe that the information contained in the
card is false or falsified, the card has been obtained by means of
fraud, or the person is otherwise in violation of the provisions of
this article.
(f) It shall not be necessary for a person to obtain an
identification card in order to claim the protections of Section
11362.5.