Pubdate: Mon, 22 Dec 2014
Source: Garden Island (Lihue, HI)
Copyright: 2014 Associated Press
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/Fyr3Cplk
Website: http://thegardenisland.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/964

HAWAII LAW LACKS CLARITY ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

HONOLULU (AP) - Fourteen years after Hawaii legalized medical 
marijuana, there is still no legal way for patients to obtain pot 
without growing it themselves.

The 2000 law also is silent on how the state's 13,000 patients can 
get the seeds for plants they are allowed to grow.

Even as four states have legalized recreational use of marijuana 
through voter initiatives, Hawaii legislators remain focused on 
creating a statewide medical marijuana dispensary system, the 
Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported

"I do expect that bills will be introduced on decriminalization and 
legalization, as always," said Democratic state Sen. Will Espero, 
chairman of the Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs 
Committee. "But Hawaii's not ready for legalization. The public is 
not clamoring for it. My colleagues are not knocking on my door 
saying, 'We have to have it. It is now on the radar and it is gaining 
momentum.' People are still waiting to see how things are handled in 
Colorado and Washington and other states."

He and others said the emphasis on marijuana-related bills this 
session will be on creating a system that would allow patients to 
legally acquire marijuana through dispensaries on each island.

The Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force was recently told that if 
such a bill were passed, the state health department likely would 
need two to three years to consider the issues involved in and create 
rules to administer a program.

Karl Malivuk, a 66-year-old medical marijuana patient from Moiliili 
who sits on the task force, said he's discouraged, calling the law on 
the books useless.

Malivuk, who suffers extreme nausea from treatment for chronic liver 
disease, buys his marijuana through Hawaii's underground market.

"I have no say-so over what is available," he said. "Compared to the 
'60s and '70s, it's so heavily narcotic. So I have a choice of being 
nauseated or totally stoned."

The number of medical marijuana patients is expected to grow next 
year when the health department takes over administering the program 
from the state Department of Public Safety, which has a law enforcement focus.

And there are a number of complicated issues that will have to be 
addressed in establishing dispensaries, said Susan Chandler, director 
of the University of Hawaii's Public Policy Center who also 
facilitates the dispensary task force meetings.

"You have licensing issues. Who's going to be able to grow it? What's 
the fee structure? There are quality control issues and security 
issues," she said. "It's a very complicated piece of legislation. 
While other states have done it, we don't have a quick administrative 
rules process and procedures."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom