The five-member Solano County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to start issuing the cards. The vote was three-to-two. 

County officials initially rejected the program for fear of violating federal drug laws even though state law allows the cards. 

Barbara Kondylis is one of the supervisors who voted in support of the program. 

“This is a long, too long in coming in my opinion. Anybody who has sat with someone who is dieing of cancer, this is a substance that has been shown to be very effective in relieving those kinds of problems.” 

A court ruling against another California county last year led supervisors to approve the program. Sacramento County okayed medical marijuana ID cards last December.

A state law passed in 2003 requires each county to offer cards to patients who get a doctor’s prescription.