Pubdate: Thu, 25 Sep 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: Gary T. Kubota
Page: B3

TASK FORCE IMPLORED TO SET UP MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

Saying changes need to be made to reduce their pain and 
inconvenience, patients and caregivers testified Wednesday evening in 
favor of establishing statewide medical marijuana dispensaries.

But at least a few residents, including a physician, advised that the 
dispensaries should be centralized and that marijuana in its various 
forms should be kept out of the hands of children and put in 
child-proof containers, in view of some research that shows its early 
use can hamper brain development.

More than 70 people attended the public meeting held by the Medical 
Marijuana Dispensary Task Force at the state Capitol auditorium.

The task force has been authorized by a state HouseSenate resolution 
to develop recommendations for establishing a statewide dispensary 
system for medical marijuana.

Nanakuli resident Alejandro Tolentino said physicians have been 
discouraged from recommending patients receive marijuana medical 
cards and he's recently had difficulty finding a physician to renew his card.

Tolentino, who suffers chronic pain in his neck and lower spine, said 
he also was against taxing patients who use marijuana. "I'm on Social 
Security," he said.

Makakilo resident Vernon Drury said he takes so much marijuana to 
reduce his pain that he'd like to see the state legalize its use, 
rather than "beating around the bushes."

Marijuana advocate Roger Christie, who is in a halfway house after 
serving five years on marijuana trafficking and income tax evasion 
convictions, spoke about the health benefits of marijuana and said 
the state laws are outdated.

"We need a radical shift in (marijuana) laws from illegal to 
essential," said Christie, a pastor with a church that uses marijuana 
as a sacrament.

Hawaii was the first state to pass a state law approving the use of 
medical marijuana in 2000, recognizing some patients may benefit from 
the drug by reducing their nausea and pain and increasing their appetite.

Under the Hawaii law, qualified patients need to be certified by a 
physician as having a medical condition that would benefit from the 
medical use of marijuana and receive a valid registry identification 
certificate.

But according to a state Legislative Reference Bureau report released 
earlier this year, access is limited to the patient or caregiver 
growing a limited amount of marijuana.

Also, under the current program qualified patients do not receive a 
supply of marijuana seeds or plants, or a legal means to purchase 
them as the sale of marijuana is prohibited under state law.

The bureau's report said of the 23 states that have medical marijuana 
programs, 10 allow patients to cultivate marijuana and provide for 
medical marijuana dispensaries.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom