Pubdate: Sun, 21 Sep 2014
Source: Garden Island (Lihue, HI)
Copyright: 2014 The Garden Island
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/Fyr3Cplk
Website: http://thegardenisland.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/964
Author: Darin Moriki
Page: A1

THE POT PROBLEM

Legal Medically, but Difficult to Obtain, Lawmakers to See If 
Loophole Can Be Fixed

This is the first in a two-part series looking at a loophole in the 
medical marijuana industry that allows patients to possess and use 
the substance, but not obtain it unless they grow it themselves. Part 
two will be published in Monday's TGI.

LIHUE - It has been just over 14 years since Hawaii made history.

At the time, the 50th state became the first in the nation to 
establish a medical marijuana program through legislation rather than 
ballot initiative.

But since then, an unresolved dichotomy has existed, according to a 
69-page state Legislative and Reference Bureau report released last week.

State law allows for the possession, cultivation, use, distribution 
and transportation of marijuana for medical purposes, but it won't 
allow a patient to obtain it unless they grow it themselves.

And growing marijuana is difficult to do, according to the report, 
because the current medical marijuana program, administered by the 
Department of Public Safety, neither supplies marijuana seeds or 
plants nor provides a source or means of obtaining them.

So what good is legal marijuana if there's no real way to get it?

It is a complex matter that state lawmakers, county officials and 
anti-drug advocates continue to tussle with as a Medical Marijuana 
Dispensary System Task Force develops a list of recommendations to 
address these issues.

And it's a controversial topic that can leave legislators on the 
fence as far as what to do.

Rep. James "Jimmy" Kunane Tokioka, D, OmaoWailua Homesteads, said he 
will wait to see what residents say before he takes a position.

"Like the many other controversial bills that influence our district, 
our island and our state, the marijuana bill is something that I will 
send out in my questionnaire, my survey to the community, and respond 
accordingly," he said.

To qualify as a patient under the state's medical marijuana program, 
a person must obtain a written certification from a physician.

This form, according to current laws, essentially affirms that a 
person has a debilitating medical condition and that the potential 
medical benefits of marijuana "would likely outweigh the health risks 
for the particular qualifying patient."

These medical conditions include cancer, glaucoma, human 
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or 
other chronic diseases that causes cachexia, severe pain, severe 
nausea, seizures, and severe and persistent muscle spasms.

Qualifying patients and authorized primary caregivers provide the 
information for a confidential medical marijuana patient registry 
with the state Department of Public Safety. Once the information is 
verified, the department issues identification certificates that 
allow a registered patient to use medical marijuana.

The problem, however, is that those same laws that permit the medical 
use are also silent on other crucial areas, including access, 
distribution, security and transportation.

"There is quite a bit of infrastructure that needs to be developed so 
that qualifying patients can receive their treatment as well as 
ensuring that the appropriate systems and agencies are in place to 
ensure public safety," Rep. Derek Kawakami, D-Wailua 
Homesteads-Haena, wrote in an email.

Unlike other drugs, registered medical patients cannot pick up 
marijuana at their local pharmacy. That's because federal laws only 
permit pharmacies to fill and dispense prescribed medications.

Since marijuana is classified a Schedule 1 controlled substance - one 
that has a high potential for abuse and is not accepted for medical 
use in treatment - physicians are not allowed to write prescriptions for it.

The federal government's classification for marijuana also makes it 
difficult for research to be conducted on the drug, said Dr. Gerald 
McKenna, who runs the McKenna Recovery Center in Lihue.

"Most of the data that we have for the effectiveness of it is from 
people saying, 'Oh yeah, I smoked it and it's great. It makes me feel 
a whole lot better,'" McKenna said. "The placebo effect of drugs is 
extremely powerful, but I think what happened with medical marijuana 
in Hawaii is that the proponents of marijuana who were trying to 
legalize it managed to get it legal in Hawaii on the backs of 
medicine and I think that was wrong."

Some officials say there is still room for abuse within the current system.

"The intent of the law was for people with debilitating medical 
conditions. However, that definition has been mismanaged by some 
physicians who grant prescriptions for 'pain management,'" said 
Theresa Koki, coordinator for Life's Choices Kauai, a county-funded 
anti-drug program.

She said that before Hawaii moves one way or the other on the issue, 
it should be well researched on it.

"No matter what people think about the drug and the policies 
surrounding it, it is critically important to be well-versed in the 
science of marijuana use and addiction," she said. "I sincerely hope 
that the legislative task force will include physicians and addiction 
specialists, as well as someone who can look at what worked in other states."

Other addiction specialists say that not enough solid research has 
been done to confirm the veracity of medical marijuana claims.

McKenna, said he is strongly opposed to all of the medical marijuana 
bills as they are written. If marijuana is intended to be used for 
legitimate medical purposes, McKenna said the drug should be 
developed in a form that is safe for people to take, such as vapor 
through an inhaler.

"They are allowing people to smoke a drug that is a dangerous, dirty 
drug, and they are inhaling it into their lungs," McKenna said. "For 
medicine to be encouraging people to smoke a drug in its dirtiest 
form, I think, is malpractice. I'm not opposed to marijuana being 
used for medical reasons, although the research is slim, especially 
American research, as to its effectiveness, but it could well be 
effective for any number of conditions."

McKenna said he regularly treats people who are addicted to 
marijuana. Some of them, he said, have medical marijuana certificates 
but cultivate marijuana plants for personal and non-personal use.

"People who are alcoholic tend to not drink during the day until the 
very end of their addiction - they go to work every day, they try to 
maintain themselves, but they drink at night," McKenna said. "People 
who are nicotine and marijuana addicts start off the day with 
(nicotine and) marijuana, they use it on their breaks, after lunch, 
after work, on the weekends, while they're on vacation, and if 
they're doing this for 10, 20 or 30 years and they try to stop, they 
don't feel comfortable in their own skin. They have a very difficult 
time stopping."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom