Pubdate: Wed, 19 Nov 2008 Source: Maui News, The (HI) Copyright: 2008 The Maui News Contact: http://www.mauinews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2259 Author: Joe Bertram III Note: Joe Bertram III is a member of the state House of Representatives from District 11, South Maui. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) THE TIME HAS ARRIVED TO END THE LUCRATIVE WAR ON CANNABIS Thank you, South Maui, for your vote of confidence and congratulations, America, for voting for change. As the president-elect exhorted, let's move beyond the arguments of the past, old policies and perceptions that divide us and work together for solutions to our many challenges. One of the biggest challenges is to end the wars based on lies, not just in the Middle East but also here at home - the generations-long, incredibly destructive war on cannabis. Started in the '30s with a racist rebranding as marijuana, it literally kicked in as "no-knock" laws and went into high gear in the '70s when President Nixon, against the advice of his own cannabis commission, created the controlled substances act that declared war on drugs. Hundreds of millions of dollars have since flowed to local law enforcement. Vice squads that had seven officers went to 70. Even small police forces now bristled with weapons and sophisticated surveillance and interrogation equipment. Our prison population ballooned with 60 percent nonviolent drug offenders so that we now imprison more than any other country in the world while cannabis use has stayed pretty much unchanged. The destruction to our communities from these warriors continues unabated. Here on Maui, local and state officials conducted a two-year, covert military-like operation code named "Weed Killer" to destroy a community-based cannabis patient advocacy group, "Patients Without Time." Headed by Brian Murphy, PWT worked tirelessly over the last several years to help patients to grow their own and access otherwise unobtainable medicine safely and regularly. My own friend got great tips as he struggled to grow his own. Mr. Murphy constantly experimented with different strains to address specific ailments. He was particularly proud of the patients he got off of Oxycotin, a deadly, highly addictive pain killer. PWT and its sister organization, Maui County Citizens for Democracy in Action, registered thousands of voters, submitted legislation and testimony at the state and county level to pursue a democratic change to implement their dream of family cannabis farms. This was based on the Legislature's own recommendation in a 2004 report for secure growing facilities to address the glaring lack of safe access for those who can't or won't grow their own. PWT regularly invited law enforcement to help create a system that protected patients and the public interest at the same time. The response: MPD against program in its entirety on grounds of "public safety" and may violate federal policy. HPD "Oppose any effort." No cooperation. Then the hammer comes down. It is obvious that the amount of money and power that has flowed to law enforcement to maintain prohibition will be difficult to overcome. It is now time to follow the lead of Massachusetts and our own Big Island, which voted to make marijuana enforcement the lowest police priority, and decriminalize all cannabis at the state level. President-elect Obama and Congress support federal decriminalization proposals and I will work with our congressional delegation and my legislative partners to offer a decriminalization/sentence reform to remove law enforcement from decisions that belong between a patient, a physician and a person's own conscience. We can redirect those resources to building a healthy economically vibrant community that addresses the root causes of drug abuse, emphasizing wellness over disease. This can be a sustainable, peaceful society with laws based on facts, not lies. Change we can believe in? Yes, we cannabis! Joe Bertram III is a member of the state House of Representatives from District 11, South Maui. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin