South Maui state Rep. Joe Bertram III is HIV positive and holds a medical-marijuana card as a caregiver. So he understands firsthand the challenges associated with trying to procure the drug for medicinal purposes as well as the resistance to reforming Hawaii's marijuana laws.
But in the last legislative session and in the one that got under way Wednesday, Bertram's once-lonesome call for change has become a chorus. More than 20 bills related to restructuring and often relaxing marijuana drug laws are up for discussion.
Maui lawmakers who supported some of the measures or even authored them include Upcountry Rep. Kyle Yamashita; Central Maui Reps. Gil Keith-Agaran and Joe Souki; West Maui Rep. Angus McKelvey; and Sen. J. Kalani English, who represents East Maui, Upcountry, Lanai and Molokai.
McKelvey said he's heard marijuana is a $1 billion underground industry, and he's open to examining whether to legalize and tax it as the state does with cigarettes.
"You know, at this point, everything is on the table," he said.
Last session, the Legislature passed a law to form a medical-marijuana task force to study obstacles patients must overcome to obtain medicinal marijuana. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed the measure, saying the state doesn't have the money for such folly. The Legislature overrode her veto, but so far she has refused to put the task force together.
"We need to make the laws clearer," Bertram said. "We have to take all the guesswork out because the interpretation has been up to law enforcement so far."
This lawmaking session features bills, most either authored or co-sponsored by Bertram, to establish general-excise taxes for the drug, and allow family farmers and nonprofits to grow marijuana, or cannabis, as Bertram prefers it be called.
Bertram said he expects House Speaker Calvin Say to introduce a comprehensive marijuana bill that would allow family farms to grow marijuana, as long as it is organic and regulated by scientists. The marijuana would be sold by nonprofits via dispensaries.
"It follows California (laws) but is tighter as far as controls go," Bertram said.
Other measures being considered by lawmakers would:
* Allow parolees and people on probation to use medical marijuana if they have a doctor's prescription and a user card.
* Make the state Department of Health responsible for overseeing the growing of medical marijuana as well as the management and operation of dispensaries.
* Transfer the medical-marijuana-registry program, which has 4,000 patients, from the state Department of Public Safety's Narcotics Division to the Health Department. The latter would have the authority to license medical-marijuana dispensaries.
* Require medical-marijuana card recipients to pay a $50 registration fee as well as general-excise taxes on marijuana purchases from dispensaries.
* Change the terminology from "medical marijuana" to "medical cannabis."
* Give medical-marijuana patients the same rights to data privacy as other patients.
* Direct the state attorney general to review the impact of diverting marijuana and other low-level felony drug offenders out of the criminal-justice system and into treatment programs instead.
* Create a medical-marijuana-stamp tax. Licensed distributors would need to purchase a 50-cent stamp from the state for every gram of marijuana sold.
* Establish a new medical-marijuana record-keeping system on the state level.
Other requirements would include proof of a physical examination by a doctor to get a medical-marijuana card and stiffer penalties for those found abusing the system.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: The Maui News
Author: CHRIS HAMILTON
Copyright: 2010 The Maui News
But in the last legislative session and in the one that got under way Wednesday, Bertram's once-lonesome call for change has become a chorus. More than 20 bills related to restructuring and often relaxing marijuana drug laws are up for discussion.
Maui lawmakers who supported some of the measures or even authored them include Upcountry Rep. Kyle Yamashita; Central Maui Reps. Gil Keith-Agaran and Joe Souki; West Maui Rep. Angus McKelvey; and Sen. J. Kalani English, who represents East Maui, Upcountry, Lanai and Molokai.
McKelvey said he's heard marijuana is a $1 billion underground industry, and he's open to examining whether to legalize and tax it as the state does with cigarettes.
"You know, at this point, everything is on the table," he said.
Last session, the Legislature passed a law to form a medical-marijuana task force to study obstacles patients must overcome to obtain medicinal marijuana. Republican Gov. Linda Lingle vetoed the measure, saying the state doesn't have the money for such folly. The Legislature overrode her veto, but so far she has refused to put the task force together.
"We need to make the laws clearer," Bertram said. "We have to take all the guesswork out because the interpretation has been up to law enforcement so far."
This lawmaking session features bills, most either authored or co-sponsored by Bertram, to establish general-excise taxes for the drug, and allow family farmers and nonprofits to grow marijuana, or cannabis, as Bertram prefers it be called.
Bertram said he expects House Speaker Calvin Say to introduce a comprehensive marijuana bill that would allow family farms to grow marijuana, as long as it is organic and regulated by scientists. The marijuana would be sold by nonprofits via dispensaries.
"It follows California (laws) but is tighter as far as controls go," Bertram said.
Other measures being considered by lawmakers would:
* Allow parolees and people on probation to use medical marijuana if they have a doctor's prescription and a user card.
* Make the state Department of Health responsible for overseeing the growing of medical marijuana as well as the management and operation of dispensaries.
* Transfer the medical-marijuana-registry program, which has 4,000 patients, from the state Department of Public Safety's Narcotics Division to the Health Department. The latter would have the authority to license medical-marijuana dispensaries.
* Require medical-marijuana card recipients to pay a $50 registration fee as well as general-excise taxes on marijuana purchases from dispensaries.
* Change the terminology from "medical marijuana" to "medical cannabis."
* Give medical-marijuana patients the same rights to data privacy as other patients.
* Direct the state attorney general to review the impact of diverting marijuana and other low-level felony drug offenders out of the criminal-justice system and into treatment programs instead.
* Create a medical-marijuana-stamp tax. Licensed distributors would need to purchase a 50-cent stamp from the state for every gram of marijuana sold.
* Establish a new medical-marijuana record-keeping system on the state level.
Other requirements would include proof of a physical examination by a doctor to get a medical-marijuana card and stiffer penalties for those found abusing the system.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: The Maui News
Author: CHRIS HAMILTON
Copyright: 2010 The Maui News
