Pubdate: Sun, 25 Oct 2015
Source: Hawaii Tribune Herald (Hilo, HI)
Copyright: 2015 Hawaii Tribune Herald
Contact: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/share/letters/
Website: http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/185
Author: Graham Milldrum

6,700 POT PLANTS UPROOTED IN SWEEPS

State police confiscated more than 6,700 marijuana plants on the Big 
Island during two recent eradication missions.

The Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division had a 
mission Sept. 18-19 in East Hawaii, said Toni Schwartz, public 
information officer for the department. They found 6,000 plants, 90 
percent of which were in one open-forest grow situation.

On Monday and Tuesday, the officers performed a similar mission on 
the west side of the Big Island. There, NED officers confiscated more 
than 700 plants, she said. Most were growing in residential areas.

No arrests were made in either operation, she reported.

Officers checked areas that had previous grows, Schwartz said, along 
with checking on people with medical marijuana licenses.

"There were lots of contacts made to remind people of how many plants 
they are allowed," she said.

That's in part because rules changed. Until July, growers were 
allowed to have three growing plants and four adult plants. Then the 
rules changed, allowing a flat seven plants and 4 ounces of marijuana.

Multiple people can register one location as their grow site, 
allowing up to the total of the registered cards in one spot, said 
Scottina Malia Ruis, the medical marijuana registry coordinator.

However, the marijuana is limited to the patient and caregiver, she said.

The state Department of Health altered other rules at the same time, 
including two measures to better tie users to their product. One rule 
requires each plant to be tagged with the identification number of 
the person growing the plant and the expiration of their permit.

The other rule requires growers and patients to keep an ID and the 
registration card with them at all times.

There also are some privacy protections for people who have the licenses.

Police do not have information about a person's medical condition. 
However, they can contact the DOH to verify if a person or location 
is registered.

Police are limited in how many officers have access to the records of 
patients, caregivers and properties related to medical marijuana. 
There is one point of contact person between the law enforcement 
agency and the DOH and up to five officers are allowed to check the registry.

The Hawaii Police Department provided manpower when needed to support 
the operation, according to the department.

In the November 2008 election, Hawaii County voters approved an 
initiative making the enforcement of marijuana laws against small 
growers and users to be the lowest law enforcement priority.

That was overturned in court and ultimately appealed to the state 
Supreme Court, which upheld the ruling this year.

The operation included officers from the state Department of Land and 
Natural Resources Conservation and Resource Enforcement. The DLNR 
directed all questions about the operations to the NED.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom