State drug czar questions legitimacy of many marijuana prescriptions

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State drug czar questions legitimacy of many marijuana prescriptions
by Chelsea Jensen
West Hawaii Today
cjensen@westhawaiitoday.com
Thursday, October 7, 2010 8:43 AM HST
The number of medical marijuana patients in Hawaii has skyrocketed more than 3,000 percent over the past 10 years, leaving the state's top narcotics enforcement officer questioning just how many of those patients actually need the drug.

When Act 228, which legalized the medical use of marijuana, became law in 2000, just 255 patients were registered, state Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division Chief Keith Kamita said Wednesday.

Today, more than 8,000 people statewide hold medical marijuana licenses, he said. Of those, just 2 percent suffer from cancer, AIDS, Crohn's disease and other debilitating ailments for which the legislation was intended to target, he said.

The majority of license-holders, 4,938 in all, were prescribed medical marijuana for claims of severe pain, he said. The drug is also being prescribed to patients complaining of headaches, pain from wearing high heels, dry skin, insomnia and other ailments, he said.

"It's the physicians relaxing and authorizing patients and the law doesn't authorize us to do as much as we can do (enforcement-wise) with other controlled substances," Kamita said, noting officers have no authority to check on a licensed patient unless they come upon plants or other evidence while investigating a separate incident.

Kamita was the guest speaker for the Kona Crime Prevention Commitee luncheon held at King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel in Kailua-Kona. During the meeting, Marco Segobia was honored as October's officer of the month for a May incident in which he alone apprehended a man suspected of beating, choking and threatening a woman.

The Narcotics Enforcement Division is a statewide law enforcement agency that enforces state laws related to controlled substances and regulated chemicals. The division, which falls under the Department of Public Safety and has an annual operating budget of about $1.9 million, handles the registration and control of manufacturing, distributing, prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances and chemicals within Hawaii.

State medical marijuana laws allow a certified patient to possess three mature plants, four immature plants and three ounces of usable marijuana, he said. In all, 14 states have enacted medical marijuana laws.

Hawaii Island has the most lax laws in the state regarding marijuana use because of a law passed by voters in 2008 making marijuana law enforcement's lowest priority, Kamita said. That designation may account for why the Big Island is home to more than half of all those licensed in the state, he said.

"The Big Island is our overachiever," he said about the island's 4,665 registered patients. There are 1,751 medical marijuana license holders on Oahu, he said.

Of those Big Island patients, 2,957 received their medical marijuana license from one doctor in Hawi, Kamita said.

"We're not saying he's not treating them, but, I don't know of any doctor able to handle that many patients," Kamita said.

While Hawaii's medical marijuana laws are still somewhat strict, Kamita warned of the negative impact marijuana dispensaries and decriminalizing the drug could have, including increased social costs and crime.

"Organized crime is moving in on these areas in places such as California because it's a cash bus. These areas are seeing more gang activity and crime," he said, claiming that for every $1 that might be brought in if marijuana were legalized and taxed, the government would spend about $4 for social services, such as addiction treatment.



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