Council weighs in on legislature’s pot bills

NAWILIWILI — Law enforcement officials and marijuana users have their arms raised in the air, but for different reasons. While one group is worrying about a potential increase in drug usage and distribution, the other is welcoming an easier way of getting relief for the symptoms of their medical conditions.

Several bills moving through the state Legislature would loosen marijuana laws, including medical marijuana and the restrictions on its growth and distribution.

“Most of these legislative bills seek to expand the availability of medical marijuana, eliminate criminal penalties for marijuana and also allow for distribution or sale,” County Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho on Wednesday told County Council members.

“These bills are sailing through the Legislature. They actually have already arrived at the Ways and Means Committee,” she said.

Iseri-Carvalho said the only bill the Office of Prosecuting Attorney supports is HB 1169. Besides increasing penalties for fraudulent use of medical marijuana, the bill redefines the definition of what a debilitating disease is.

“It would exclude those who have only pain,” she said.

Out of 8,127 medical marijuana users registered in the state, 5,540 use it for severe pain, and 2,041 use it for multiple conditions. Other users include 119 for severe nausea, 119 for muscle spasms, 91 for cancer, 78 for HIV or AIDS, 56 for glaucoma, 43 for seizures and 40 for wasting syndrome.

HB 1169 has not been heard by any committee yet, and will not advance if not heard by March 4 by the Judiciary and the Ways and Means committees.

“We are not going to stop people from using marijuana, unless we’re willing to kill them,” said Lonnie Sykos, a Kaua‘i resident who uses medical marijuana for pain.

“I don’t develop pain because I quit smoking pot, which I do legally. I develop pain because I have enormous internal body structure damage. When I run out of chemistry it becomes painful,” Sykos said.

Sykos said he was in support of the bills, although he thinks the bills “most certainly” need some changes.

“I’m not saying that marijuana should be legalized,” said Sykos, adding that this is an issue beyond the discussion. “I’m simply saying that the demonizing of it and the misinformation needs to be removed before we can have a rational conversation.”

Kapa‘a resident Ken Taylor said his 45-year-old son started using drugs at 23 years old, and has been clean for eight years.

“For 40 years we’ve had a drug war that has totally failed,” Taylor said. “We’ve spent billions and billions of dollars, we’ve locked up and ruined the lives of many, many people and families, and we haven’t accomplished anything.”

Taylor said it’s time to make some changes, adding that he doesn’t necessarily agree with the bills in their current form, but we should allow people to acquire medical marijuana.

“Look at how much it has cost to incarcerate everybody that we arrested because they’ve got a little marijuana in their pocket. It’s sinful what’s going on and we’re not addressing the whole issue,” Taylor said.

History

In June 14, 2000, Gov. Ben Cayetano signed a bill legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, following the approval of Hawai‘i’s Legislature. On Jan. 8, 2001, the state issued the first medical marijuana card, said Keith Kamita, Deputy Director of Law Enforcement at the state Department of Public Safety.

Together with Iseri-Carvalho, Kamita gave council members a briefing on the several marijuana-related bills moving through the Legislature.

Today there are 15 states, plus Washington D.C., which have legalized some kind of medical marijuana use, according to Kamita.

In the first year that medical marijuana was legalized in Hawai‘i, 256 patients were registered, Kamita said. As of Dec. 13, 2010, there were 8,124 registered patients and 916 caregivers, plus 98 physicians prescribing medical marijuana.

On Kaua‘i there are 814 patients, 106 caregivers, 12 on-island doctors and 14 off-island doctors, according to Kamita.

Medical marijuana

“The use of the term medical is really a front for the legalization and marketization of illegal marijuana,” Iseri-Carvalho said

She said the FDA has stated that “smoked medical marijuana has no currently accepted or proven medical use in the United States and is not an approved medical treatment.”

The American Lung Association, according to Iseri-Carvalho, has said that the marijuana smoke contains a greater amount of carcinogens than tobacco smoke.

Iseri-Carvalho said comparing marijuana grown nowadays with marijuana grown in the 1990s is like “comparing apples and oranges.”

The potency level of marijuana in the 1990s was one to three percent. Marijuana grown nowadays have a potency level of 12 to 13 percent, and the highest recorded potency is 37 percent.

Iseri -Carvalho said marinol, a legal alternative to marijuana has existed since 1985. It provides a pure, controlled, safer and unadulterated alternative to medical marijuana, according to Iseri-Carvalho.

Additional testimony

Several pieces of testimony, leaning a bit toward opposition of the bills, ensued throughout the entire morning at the council chambers.

Kaua‘i Police Department Assistant Chief Mark Begley said he used drugs during his teen years, while growing up in California and O‘ahu, but stopped because he didn’t want to go to jail. Most of his friends who kept using drugs didn’t do very well in life, he said.

Begley said law enforcement and lawmakers may not have been as efficient as they should’ve been, but he doesn’t believe the war on drugs has been lost, nor that we should “throw in the towel.”

Deputy County Attorney Justin Kollar said “it is baffling and disheartening to see so much more effort being put into making more drugs available to more of our residents.”

Iseri-Carvalho said there’s been concerns of employees returning from lunch breaks after using medical marijuana. “Clearly this issue hasn’t been addressed.”

However, the law allows employees to refuse applicants who test positive for marijuana, even if they are allowed to smoke medical marijuana.

Kapa‘a resident and self-described nitpicker Glenn Mickens said his biggest problem and question with “trying to put the brakes of drug use and sales” is the overwhelming push by the alcohol industry, in his opinion the largest and deadliest type of drugs.

“How do we change the cultural mindset of today’s society to get our young to say ‘no, thank you’ to any and all drugs?” Mickens said.

Sykos said we should concentrate more on giving the worst penalties for people who give drugs to children.

Go to www.capitol.hawaii.gov for more information.

• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.

SB 1460

Establishes a civil violation for possession of one ounce or lessof marijuana that is subject to a fine of not more than $100.

Deletes reporting requirements of board of education for studentspossessing one ounce or less of marijuana.

Clarifies that medical marijuana patients and primary caregiver mayassert affirmative defense to prosecution, criminal or civil,involving possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.

Excludes possession of more than one ounce of marijuana fromauthority of Hawai‘i paroling authority to require paroled prisonerto undergo and complete substance abuse treatment.

Excludes possession of more than one ounce of marijuana fromauthority of courts to require a defendant to undergo and completesubstance abuse treatment for probation violation.

Clarifies definition of detrimental drug to exclude one ounce orless of marijuana.

Excludes possession of one ounce or less of marijuana from offensesof promoting a detrimental drug in the second-degree andthird-degree.

Clarifies that possession of one ounce or less of marijuana doesnot constitute a possession with intent to distribute without otherconduct indicating an intent to distribute for purposes ofpromoting controlled substance in or near schools, school vehicles,or public parks.

Clarifies a civil violation for possession of marijuana does notconstitute a prior offense for purposes of the conditionaldischarge law.

Status — Passed Judiciary and Health committees, referred to Waysand Means Committee.

SB 1458

Creates three classes of medical marijuana licenses: Class Imedical marijuana compassion center license for the sale of medicalmarijuana to qualified patients; class II medical marijuanacultivation license; class III medical marijuana-infused productsmanufacturing license.

Specifies requirements for each class.

Makes medical marijuana sales subject to income and excisetaxes.

Establishes a fee for issuance and renewal of a license and aspecial marijuana sales tax.

Status — Passed Public Safety, Government Operations and MilitaryAffairs, and Health committees, referred to Ways and MeansCommittee.

SB 113

Establishes a three-year pilot medical cannabis research program inthe state to provide a means by which a team of qualifiedresearchers would undertake medical cannabis research involvinglocal qualifying medical cannabis patients. Sunsets 12/31/14.

Status — Passed Public Safety, Government Operations and MilitaryAffairs Committee, referred to Ways and Means Committee.

SB 174

Removes marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols from the schedule Icontrolled substances list and places them in the schedule IIIcontrolled substances list.

Status — Passed Health Committee, referred to JudiciaryCommittee.

SB 175

Transfers departmental jurisdiction of the medical marijuana lawsfrom the Department of Public Safety to the Department ofHealth.

Requires the DPS to continue to maintain a verification service toconfirm registration that is accessible 24/7 to the DOH.

Requires DPS to assist with the transfer to the DOH.

Status — Passed Public Safety, Government Operations and MilitaryAffairs, and Health committees, referred to Ways and MeansCommittee.

SB 58

Increases the amount of cannabis that constitutes an adequatesupply by allowing a qualifying patient to possess 10 cannabisplants and five ounces of cannabis at any given time.

Makes identification of the site where cannabis is grownconfidential.

Prohibits the department of public safety from requiring that acertifying physician be the patient’s primary care physician.

Prohibits certifying physicians from naming or describing apatient’s particular debilitating condition. Increases thepermissible ratio of patients to caregivers by allowing a caregiverto grow cannabis for no more than 3 patients at any giventime.

Allows transfer to another qualified patient and transport ofmedical marijuana without prosecution.

Status — Passed Public Safety, Government Operations and MilitaryAffairs Committee, referred to Judiciary Committee.

HB 1169

Clarifies the state’s medical use of marijuana law.

Physicians issuing permits must have physical offices to see andtreat patients.

Defines debilitating medical conditions as persons suffering fromcancer, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS.

Increases penalties for fraudulent application to make consistentwith penalties for other controlled substances.

Status — Passed first reading