Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jan 2016
Source: West Hawaii Today (HI)
Copyright: 2016 West Hawaii Today
Contact: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/contact_us/letters/
Website: http://westhawaiitoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/644
Author: Jeffrey K. Coakley

REAL MOTIVATION FOR MARIJUANA ISN'T MEDICINE

J. Appleton's attempt to discredit me and North Kohala Community 
Association is based on his lack of knowledge on the marijuana issue 
and his ignorance on the pulse of our community.

We are asking why the two dispensary licenses for this island and 
eight throughout the state?

We have less than 14,000 medical marijuana cardholders in Hawaii, 
5,550 on the Big Isle. Each patient can have seven plants. If they 
can't grow their own, others can grow the plants for them. Of the 
5,500, only 12 Big Isle patients cannot grow their own. So to 
"assist" these 12 people, four Big Isle reps helped introduce the 
bill: Cindy Evans, Mark Nakashima, Richard Creagan and Joy San Buenaventura.

Ask them what their real intentions are. Colorado, Oregon, 
Washington, and Alaska all started off with medical marijuana, then 
legalized recreational use. The eight medical marijuana dispensary 
owners in Hawaii will spend at least 3 million each to grow 48,000 
plants and set up their manufacturing sites and retail stores. Can 
they make money off 14,000 patients who were growing their own plants 
for free? We all know where this is heading and it's not about medicine.

We've researched this issue, contacted politicians and experts in 
varied fields and had several meetings to discuss the new marijuana 
law. Police Chief Harry Kubojiri stated that big businesses are 
financing dispensary applicants in the state. He distributed 
Colorado's certified (not Internet propaganda) research on the social 
impact of marijuana legalization in Colorado. Money for the 
dispensary license owner, but the county gets nothing. That's why 
Ohio voted "No" to marijuana, even medical marijuana. So who pays for 
the increased social services and police force? Us, the taxpayers. 
That's one of the problems Colorado faces.

Our state reps denied us the right to vote on issues that affect our 
community, our home, our children, our grandchildren and their 
future. What else are these Reps going to do behind our backs?

Jeffrey K. Coakley

Kohala
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom