Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2014
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2014 Star Advertiser
Contact: 
http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154
Author: B.J. Reyes
Page: B4

POT DISPENSARIES LONG OVERDUE, TASK FORCE SAYS

Pilot Programs Only Delay Establishment of a Viable System, One
Patient Argues

With 13,000 people registered for the state medical marijuana program
- - among the first in the nation when formed 14 years ago - the time
for pilot projects and studies has long passed, said Karl Malivuk, a
registered patient.

"It's time that we have a dispensary system, not a pilot," Malivuk
told fellow members of the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force. "A
pilot project, to us, is: 'Let's kick the can down the road.'"

The 21 members of the task force met for the first time Tuesday to
begin the work of developing recommendations to the 2015 Legislature
for establishing a medical marijuana distribution system. Without
dispensaries, patients must grow it themselves, have a caregiver to
grow it for them or obtain it illegally.

Lawmakers came close to setting up a pilot program for distribution
centers in 2011, but the proposal stalled in the final days of the
session.

Malivuk, 66, a retired information technology specialist who has been
diagnosed with an incurable liver disease, said the time for pilot
programs is long gone.

"I am walking, talking empirical evidence that dispensary systems
work," Malivuk said after the meeting, citing his experiences in New
Mexico, where he was a registered patient in that state's distribution
system and was able to access any one or all of 23 dispensaries statewide.

He registered under Hawaii's program about a year ago, a few months
after returning to Hawaii to retire with his wife and care for his
mother-in-law.

"That's when I saw how convoluted the system was and essentially how
unworkable the system is here," he said.

Under Hawaii law, a patient who obtains a prescription from a doctor
and undergoes a certification and training program may possess up to
seven marijuana plants and 4 ounces of usable marijuana. The patient
is required to carry a yellow identification card that certifies the
patient, or a designated caregiver, may possess the product.

Dispensaries would be locations where patients or caregivers could go
to obtain the medical marijuana without hassle or fear of being
stopped by law enforcement.

PETER WHITICAR, an official with the state Department of Health, which
will take oversight of the program from the Department of Public
Safety beginning in January, said several issues still need to be
worked out regarding dispensaries. They range from whether the
dispensaries would be publicly or privately operated, whether they
will have nonprofit or for-profit status and the extent of training
devoted to staff. Other concerns include funding, zoning, security,
selecting products for sale, labeling, database and patient tracking,
and administrative rules.

Several members suggest studying what other states have done - Hawaii
and 21 other states plus Washington, D.C., have medical marijuana
programs. Officials said 19 of those states have set up dispensary
systems.

Jari Sugano, 40, of Mililani, whose 5-year-old daughter suffers from a
severe form of epilepsy, said one of the main problems linked to
cultivating her own plants is being able to test the finished product
for consistency. They enrolled in the program in October 2013.

In the past few months, Sugano said, as she has learned more about
growing and filtering ingredients, her daughter has had a decrease in
seizures and shown improved cognitive abilities.

"Hopefully, what we can do here today is to create a system where
people would have access to a quality product, they would have a
consistent supply and ... it will be something that they can afford to
acquire," she said.

"I'm hoping that this is just the first step in that process."
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MAP posted-by: Matt