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ACLU holds news conference TUESDAY over county's refusal to implement

SACRAMENTO - The Sacramento Chapter of the ACLU will hold a brief news conference here Tuesday to issue an important statement regarding Sacramento County's refusal to implement a medical marijuana ID program as required by law and recent court decisions.

The news briefing will be held just outside the Board of Supervisors meeting (700 H St., Suite 1450) TUESDAY, at 2:30 p.m. The BOS will take up the matter at its meeting Tuesday at 2:45 p.m.

The ACLU notified the BOS late last week that its refusal to implement the MMP could lead to costly lawsuits that would spend scarce tax dollars.

"(We) have concerns that Sacramento County is not in compliance with state Health & Safety Code provisions authorizing a Medical Marijuana Program (MMP)," said the ACLU, noting Sacramento County has resisted attempts to provide the cards - although at least 40 California counties have already done so.

The ACLU of Sacramento pointed to recent court decisions, including one where San Diego County lost two appeals aimed at overturning the law that created medical marijuana ID cards, as among the reasons for Sacramento to comply.

"The failure of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to enable the county health officer to comply with state law could lead to needless litigation that would misappropriate scarce county staff resources," said the ACLU in its letter to the board.