2/24 > SB1458 public hearing at the Hawaii Capitol bldg

Jim Finnel

Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
There is no public testimony (in person), but indeed, written testimony will be accepted and is needed!

Below are the talking points from Jeanne Ohta of DPFHi.

This bill won't have an immediate impact on patients, as it could take a while for a dispensary to open (but, note Jeanne's explanation of the 2050 date). Please note some of the changes, such as a specific number of dispensaries on each island.

SB 58 (which increases plants, ounces and patient-caregiver ratio) is the bill I prefer, but there is no guarantee it will get a hearing. So, it is certainly important to submit testimony for this one, and keep it in motion.

Again, the easiest way to submit testimony is the link:

Submit Testimony by Email

Type in SB1458 (no space) and you can fill in the boxes. Even a few simple sentences in the "additional comments" section will be useful.

There will be a separate e-mail for SB1460.

SB 1458 SD 1 Relating to Health
What it does: Creates three classes of medical marijuana licenses: class 1 medical marijuana compassion center license for the sale of medical marijuana to qualified patients; class 2 medical marijuana cultivation license; class 3 medical marijuana-infused products manufacturing license. Specifies requirements for each class. Makes medical marijuana sales subject to income and excise taxes. Establishes a fee for issuance and renewal of a license and a special marijuana sales tax. Takes effect 7/1/2050. (SD1)

(Alright, I know you saw it and you are wondering, what's with the "takes effect 7/1/2050"? Don't worry about that, that's called "defecting the date" and is often done with bills as they work their way through the various committees. Assuming the bill moves on, the date will be changed sometime later.)

The bill will be heard by its last committee in the Senate, Ways and Means, the money committee. As is their custom and as the Senate rules allow, this hearing is "Decision Making only." They will only accept written testimony, so we will need your help.
PLEASE SEND IN WRITTEN TESTIMONY ON WEDNESDAY!

Two ways to submit testimony:
1) By Email: E-mail if less than 5 pages in length, to the Committee at WAMTestimony@Capitol.hawaii.gov . Please indicate the measure, date and time of the hearing. Email sent to individual offices or any other Senate office will not be accepted.
2) By Web: Online if less than 4MB in size, at Submit Testimony by Email

USE THE FOLLOWING HEADER:
To: Senator David Ige, Chair
Senator Michelle Kidani, Vice Chair and
Members of the Committee on Ways and Means

From: (Your Name)

RE: SB 1458 SD1 Relating to Health
Hearing: Thursday, February 24, 2011, 9:00 a.m., Room 211

Position: Strong Support

Write your reasons for wanting the compassion centers. It is always a good idea to use your personal experiences and if you don't agree with any of the amendments made below, you may provide your comments on them. You may also use two or three of the talking points I've provided below.

AMENDMENTS:
Here are the amendments that were made to the original bill (resulting in this SD1):
1. The $ amounts of the licensing fees for each class was blanked out, this indicates that the previous committee will allow different $ amounts to be proposed by this committee. (They were $20,000, $10,000 and $10,000)
2. Limited the number of compassion centers on each island as follows: Hawaii-6, Kauai-2, Maui-3, Molokai-1 and Oahu-10.
3. Inspections-changed from "the business premises of any class 1 and class 2 licensee shall be subject to reasonable inspection" to "unannounced inspections."
4. Removed the special sales tax on sales between licensees of any class. Those sales will be subject to the state income tax and the state excise tax.
5. Added the security requirement that all licensees shall: "install video surveillance cameras that operate 24 hours per day, seven days per week, and are accessible to law enforcement agencies."
6. Restriction on locations increased from 300 feet to 500 feet the requirement that class 1, class 2 and class 3 licensees cannot be located withing 500 feet of any day care facility, public or private school, and
7. Added the following restriction: "no licensee of any class shall be located within two miles of any other licensee of any class."
8. Criminal history record check-Increased from 5 years to 10 years:"no person who has had a felony drug conviction or who has been convicted of any felony in the immediately preceding 10 years shall be eligible to obtain or renew any license under this subpart."

TALKING POINTS:
The most urgent need according to most patients and the Medical Cannabis Working Group is the establishment of a legal, safe, and reliable source for their medicine.

Establishing compassion centers solves a gray area in the law that established the current medical marijuana program.
Although current law allows patients to grow their own plants, the law is silent as to where patients should acquire seeds or clones to start their supply. Even more confusing is that the Department of Public Safety has said that the only legal transfer of marijuana is between a registered patient and that patient's registered caregiver. Caregivers are difficult to find and they are currently limited to assisting only one patient.

Compassion centers are necessary because many patients want a legal, reliable and safe source for their marijuana. Many patients are unable to grow their own medicine because some live in apartments or condominiums; others live in areas where their plants are not secure and are subject to vandalism or theft; others are just too sick to provide the care needed for their plants to grow to maturity.

Patients are law-abiding citizens who want to remain law abiding and should not be forced to go to neighborhood drug pushers for their medicine.

Compassion centers would also fill a need for patients who may not know how to use vaporizers or make infused-products on their own.

Read the bill here (its long more than 30 pages):
https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/Bills/SB1458_SD1_.pdf

Read the hearing notice here:
Hearing WAM 02-24-11 DM

Please encourage others to send in testimony in support. Thank you.
Jeanne Y. Ohta
Executive Director
Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii

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Peaceful Sky Alliance
 
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