HILO -- Natural Law gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Adler has reached a plea agreement that could keep him from serving time in jail for two sets of marijuana charges. But it will also mean he will not be eligible to run for governor when he is sentenced Sept. 4, said his attorney, Michael Green. Chief Elections Officer Dwayne Yoshina has said posters will be put up at polling places saying Adler is not an eligible candidate once he is sentenced for a felony offense. [continues 193 words]
Two letters to the editor assert there is no marijuana shortage (Letters, "No pakalolo shortage," HW, 8/14). Are these people still hitting the pipe? I'm no M.B.A., but this is a simple economics concept that even George W. could follow. The scarcity of supply, caused by Green Harvest's success, has driven the price of marijuana sky-high. While it is clearly still available to those who can pay the price, it is so expensive the people might choose another cheaper drug. Ice for example. The evidence of the success is the incredible rise in the cost of marijuana since inception of Green Harvest. This is much more than anecdotal evidence. Matthew Dougherty [end]
To say that there is a "shortage" of marijuana due to eradication efforts is misleading. (Honolulu Diary, "Ice vs. pot," HW, 7/31). It would be more accurate to say that pot is difficult to access in Hawai'i. While there is pot available for those who choose to seek it out and pay for it, its inflated price leads drug users to seek cheaper, more accessible drugs such as methamphetamine. During Prohibition in the early part of the last century, there was no "shortage" of safe, smuggled foreign liquor, primarily from Canada. However, the illegality of such booze made it prohibitively expensive, leading most drinkers to guzzle homemade moonshine and whiskey, which could cause blindness and, in some cases, death. If you've got the money, you can get whatever drugs you want. However, marijuana prohibition and the price inflation it causes lead most people to seek cheaper highs, which often are more damaging to the individual and to society than marijuana use. Spike Bradford [end]
The federal Weed & Seed program, which recruits area residents to help reduce drug activity and related crime in their neighborhoods, officially kicks off the 'Ewa portion of its program next week. As part of Aloha United Way's "Day of Caring," organizers will hold a 7:45 a.m. kickoff breakfast Sept. 4 at Geiger Park off Geiger Road. Some 1,000 volunteers will participate afterward in a community-wide cleanup at area schools and parks, the first step in a program that will set up neighborhood patrols and crime prevention programs in 'Ewa. [continues 449 words]
For any parent, the fear of their child getting involved with drugs is great, and the reality overwhelming. All of your hopes and aspirations vanish, as you try to cope, and "fix" the problem, amid pangs of guilt that as a parent you had somehow failed along the way. Last August, I received a sobering briefing from retiring Big Island Police Chief James Correa and Mayor Harry Kim about the rising crystal meth or "ice" problem in their county. I asked for the meeting after learning about community meetings where residents came together throughout the island to talk about the devastating impact of crystal meth on their families. This drug knows no class boundaries -- it affects rich and poor, educated and illiterate. I was saddened by what I learned. [continues 671 words]
Any cop and all the other drug-war soldiers will tell you they are tough and can handle any violent criminal. They look danger in the face, laugh, and say "Come on, give me your best shot." If you have ever seen a cop with the testosterone flowing at an arrest or seen one inside a jail where the cop is a god, you know looking at them in the eye is worthy of a beating. So why are authorities so consumed with keeping marijuana illegal? [continues 113 words]
Contrary to Robert Sharpe's assertions in his Aug. 10 letter, the drug war not only promotes but protects families and their values. Children and family members of inmates and non-incarcerated illegal drug users are put in harm's way every day by their association with drug users. A 1997 Journal of the American Medical Association study reported that "people who do not use illegal drugs but live in households where such drugs are used are 11 times as likely to be killed as those living in drug-free homes," and "drug abuse in a home increased a woman's risk of being killed by a spouse, lover or close relative by 28 times." [continues 83 words]
Maui Crime Stoppers Solves Crimes Through Help From The Public. Rewards For Information And The Satisfaction Of A Safer Community. For citizens who are sick and tired of the crimes they see happening, the Maui Crime Stoppers offers a real chance to get involved. Maui Crime Stoppers, like America's Most Wanted, depends on community involvement to help get criminals off the streets. According to the MPD, Crime Stoppers deals primarily with unsolved felony crimes and fugitives wanted in felony cases. And the Program really does help bring criminals to justice. [continues 714 words]
THE ISSUE - Teenagers say buying marijuana is easier than buying beer or cigarettes, according to a national survey. TEENAGERS for the first time say it is easier for them to buy marijuana than beer or cigarettes, and they are trying marijuana in increasing numbers, according to a national survey of a thousand 12-to-17-year-olds. The report says too many parents have helped make the problem as bad as it is by doing nothing, failing to realize and exert their influence in positive ways. [continues 377 words]
The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai'i (ACLU) and the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i (DPFH) have joined a chorus of voices throughout the state protesting the unwarranted harassment of legally registered Big Island patients who use medical marijuana. "Since July 8th there have two raids on Big Islanders who hold medical marijuana certificates issued by the Department of Public Safety," said Donald Topping, President of DPFH. "This intrusive behavior on the part of the Hawai'i County police is an unconscionable attack on sick people who have been certified by a physician and are using marijuana legally to treat their ailments." [continues 248 words]
Charles Memminger's Aug. 14 "Honolulu Lite" column states that the Hawaii Green Party is "pro pot." If Memminger had read the party's platform, he would know that this statement is not true. Memminger writes that "many Republicans and Democrats ... consider the Green Party a huge bowl of flakes with a few nuts thrown in for good measure." Actually, I have heard some Democrats make that statement about the Republican Party. Come to think of it, the Republicans say the same thing about the Democrats. Oh well, each to his own bowl. Jack C. Morse [end]
Tony Fisher makes the mistake of assuming that punitive marijuana laws actually deter use (Letters, Aug. 15). The University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study reports that lifetime use of marijuana is higher in the U.S. than any European country. Yet, America is one of the few Western countries that wastes resources punishing citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, nor does it share the addictive properties of tobacco. The short-term health effects of marijuana are inconsequential compared to the long-term effects of criminal records. Unfortunately, marijuana represents the counterculture to misguided reactionaries in Congress intent on legislating their version of morality. In subsidizing the prejudices of culture warriors, the U.S. government is inadvertently subsidizing organized crime. [continues 96 words]
HILO - A councilman is moving to get four more officers on the street to combat the island's ice problem. Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong last week drafted legislation to transfer $215,000 from the County Council's "contingency relief" account to fund four positions in the Police Department's vice section, specifically for "a crystal methamphetamine task force." The contingency relief account includes funds trimmed from other county departments during the budget process, yet were not earmarked for a specific purpose and spent with the council's discretion. [continues 690 words]
HONOLULU (AP) -- Gov. Ben Cayetano said Thursday he won't ''second guess'' Big Island police in their enforcement of marijuana laws, which has included raids on homes of people with state permits for medical use of the drug. ''The matter will be adjudicated in court,'' he said. The Hawaii Legislature two years ago became the first to pass a law approving the possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes. Under state rules, certified patients are allowed to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and to grow up to seven plants -- three mature and four immature. [continues 190 words]
Some Council Members Say The Police Should Focus More On Crystal Meth HILO -- Angered by police raids on medical marijuana users, some Hawaii County Council members strongly urged acting Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna this week to refocus drug enforcement on crystal methamphetamine. "What I see is a paramilitary force outside of civilian control," Councilman Curtis Tyler told Mahuna, who became acting chief after the retirement of Chief James Correa last week. "Get real," Tyler demanded Tuesday during a Council committee meeting. [continues 447 words]
Thank you for printing Louis Silverstein's Aug. 12 letter on the war on drugs. I pray for the day when everyone knows the truth about drugs and the laws against them. Every self-conscious personality has the right to experiment as a matter of personal experience in order to learn the facts and truths of life because there is no substitute for personal experience. All of the laws against drugs are far worse on society than the use of any or all of the drugs. You cannot legislate morality. None of the laws against all of the crimes on all of the books has brought or will bring an end to crime because everything is a matter of choice at base level and you never know for sure how a person is going to choose. You and your exercise of your God-given power and freedom to choose the moral rather than the immoral is what keeps you from doing anything "wrong." [continues 73 words]
Some of what Louis Silverstein says makes sense (Letters, Aug. 12), such as teaching people to be users and not abusers, and that there is corruption at all levels when it comes to drugs and money. Do we need to combat drugs? I believe the answer is yes and no. We should weed out the "batu" houses where "ice" dealers push a drug that can form a habit that is perilous, unlike habitual pot smokers. Let's leave pot alone, it's a natural. Cocaine can be used in a healing fashion as long as it is not free-based and is taken in an appropriate manner to enhance performance in certain areas of life. But, a major qualification - everything is habitual and all things can become an obsession. [continues 125 words]
A year after Mayor Harry Kim declared an epidemic of methamphetamine addiction on the Big Island, the county is no closer to identifying specific actions needed to counter the scourge of ice. No concrete steps have been taken as the data from police and social service agencies show increasing numbers of arrests for property and assault crimes, cases of spousal and family abuse, and increasing numbers of school children admitting to using ice. But the perception of inaction on the part of county government is just that, said Billy Kenoi, the mayor's executive assistant in charge of marshalling resources to fight drug abuse on the Big Island. [continues 697 words]
Editor: After reading the West Hawaii Today article about "Operation Green Harvest" it occurred to me that the police always report on the number of plants destroyed (and often their estimate of the street value), but they never report on what it costs for them to fly around in helicopters and hike through the hills instead of pursuing murderers, rapists, burglars, and other real criminals. I know they receive grants and special funds for these activities. Some of our large beer brewers often contribute to these programs. But the fact is these are still police who would otherwise be patrolling our streets and serving and protecting our citizens. They seem to be losing sight of the "serve and protect" philosophy. David Lane Santa Cruz [end]
Louis Silverstein's Aug. 12 letter is one of those really misinformed letters to the editor that makes drug enforcement even more difficult than it should be. Marijuana is addictive, not physiologically but in an even more subtle and damaging way, psychologically. Clearly, Mr. Silverstein's main interest is selling his book not in impartially evaluating the enormous damage being done by the drug user as well as the drug abuser. There was a New York Times article from London in the same issue of The Maui News which said it all: A user said he doesn't see pot as a drug at all. Then he goes on to say, "I still have my balance. Although sometimes days go by -- and before you know it a week's gone by, and you haven't done anything you're supposed to do, like get a job." I would bet every penny I've got that that person would adamantly insist that he is a "user" and not an "abuser." Silverstein says, "responsible, respectful, and disciplined use of marijuana affords one the insight . . ." Does the person noted above sound to you like he is getting any insight? [continues 177 words]
Mayor Apana and County Council, it's almost time for election, right? Where are the juvenile substance-abuse programs you promised. It's so bad and there's no detention home, no boot camp here, also no in-house drug court for juveniles. I sure hope whoever will be our next mayor will start his job right. Come on, people, you need to voice your feelings about juvenile substance abuse. Big Island, Honolulu get everything. We taxpayers have nothing here in Maui for our children and grandchildren. [continues 74 words]
Carl Kaikaina Allegedly Falsified Drug Test Results At A Former Job A federal grand jury has indicted a former employee of Drug Addiction Services of Hawaii on charges of soliciting and accepting bribes to alter the urine test results of a defendant on supervised release and an undercover FBI agent. Carl Hauoli Kaikaina, 48, of the University area was charged Thursday in a secret indictment with five counts of bribery and three counts of making a false statement. At his initial appearance in U.S. District Court yesterday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Hino told the court that Kaikaina has admitted to altering test results for other individuals as well. [continues 438 words]
HILO - A couple of medical marijuana cardholders who were arrested and had their plants seized recently were among several people who testified Tuesday at a council Finance Committee meeting. A video of last month's arrests of John and Rhonda Robison and Kealoha "Kea" Wells, and the seizure of 20 marijuana plants, also was played for councilmembers. Wells, 30, and John Robison, 36, hold Department of Public Safety-issued medical marijuana cards as they suffer from acute lymphocytic leukemia. Rhonda Robison, 31, holds a medical marijuana card for her Charco-Marie-Tooth muscular dystrophy. [continues 807 words]
Lots of things have changed in the three years since lawmakers authorized Gov . Ben Cayetano to negotiate directly with developers to build a new jail. So much so, in fact, that they now should retract that authorization and go back to Square 1. Not only has the state's financial ability to build major new facilities eroded, but it appears a promising new corrections philosophy is evolving. Moreover, while we generally admire measures that allow projects to get done quickly and efficiently without legislative micromanagement, we're afraid the public is too much in the dark about the bidding process, not to mention the location, scope of operations and even the price, for the jail. [continues 486 words]
HILO -- Just when it seemed that a marijuana conviction would knock Natural Law Party candidate Jonathan Adler out of the race for governor, Adler has found wording in state law that he says may keep him running. Adler, 50, was convicted in June of felony commercial promotion of marijuana for possessing 89 marijuana plants in 1998. His sentencing is set for Aug. 26. Once sentencing is completed, it was believed he would be barred from running. But the law says a person convicted of a felony may not file to run for elective office, Adler says in a letter to state elections chief Dwayne Yoshina. [continues 248 words]
Party Officials Are Not Happy About The Efforts Of 2 Candidates A marijuana advocate and a local comedian are not the Natural Law Party's ideal candidates. But for Green Party rejects Jonathan Adler and Kaui Hill -- better known as Bu La'ia -- the Natural Law party is the best vehicle for getting one of them to the general election in the race for governor. "We have two candidates running this time that don't support our platform," said Natural Law Party Chairwoman Laurie Clegg. [continues 724 words]
HONOLULU (AP) -- The chairwoman of Hawaii's Natural Law Party is concerned about the two candidates the party has running for its gubernatorial nomination. One is a marijuana advocate and the other a performing comedian. Both marijuana advocate Jonathan Adler of the Big Island and local comedian Kaui Hill -- a Maui resident who performs as Bu La'ia -- have their own agendas, says Laurie Clegg. ''We have two candidates running this time that don't support our platform,'' she said, accusing Adler and Hill of using the party just to get on the November ballot. ''It's very disappointing for us because our party has very high ideals.'' [continues 305 words]
Our country seemingly remains hellbent on wasting billions of dollars year after year on the longest war in U.S. history. Current drug policy has created vicious and ever expanding criminal networks that corrupt society, including police forces, and cause far worse damage and destruction than the substances being regulated. It is the war against drugs, not the drugs themselves, which has turned drug dealing into an enormous profit making machine, resulting in gangs and cartels killing each other and innocent members of their communities in the pursuit of the dollar. [continues 210 words]
Mike Coleman's Aug. 4 op-ed piece was on target. The drug war is not the promoter of family values that some would have us believe. Children of inmates are at risk of educational failure, joblessness, addiction and delinquency. Not only do the children lose out, but society, too. Incarcerating nonviolent drug offenders alongside hardened criminals is the equivalent of providing them with a taxpayer-funded education in anti-social behavior. Turning recreational drug users into unemployable ex-cons is a senseless waste of tax dollars. It's time to declare peace in the failed drug war and begin treating all substance abuse, legal or otherwise, as the public health problem it is. Destroying the futures and families of citizens who make unhealthy choices doesn't benefit anyone. Robert Sharpe, M.P.A., Program Officer, Drug Policy Alliance Washington, D.C. [end]
Dear Editor, How can we trust or believe that a ruler who is increasing his family fortune through pharmaceutical and oil investments is actually working in the best interests of the people, when our best interests would cost his family and friends billions of dollars? What is in our best interest is to start to preserve our planet and reduce global warming. Terrorism cannot destroy all existence of life on Earth. Burning fossil fuels is. In our best interest, we would be encouraged to grow the only substance known to man that can replace every paper, plastic and fossil fuel product. That would save trees, stop acid rain, and reverse the Greenhouse Effect. But, that would ruin his oil investments. [continues 245 words]
Editor: As a Neighborhood Watch-Captain on Middle Keei Road, I would like to add emphasis to the informative letter by Charles Flaherty regarding marijuana helicopters and the real drug problem of "ice" and "crack." We have talked about this many times at our Neighborhood Watch meetings. We do not need police and their resources flying around in helicopters. We do need police and their resources, on the ground. It is not the people using marijuana who are breaking into houses. It is not the people using marijuana who are causing domestic and public violence. It is people who are using "ice" and "crack." True, the county and Police Department get federal money for flying around, but they are doing nothing to safeguard our neighborhoods. They are only adding to statistics. If they are really serious about attacking the drug problem, then listen to the public and even their own officers. [continues 77 words]
And the moron of the week award goes to Christopher S. Ovitt, executive director of the Democratic Party of Hawaii! He writes (Letters, Aug. 5) that Democrats want to build a bright future for Hawaii where everyone shares in the prosperity. Oh please! There have always been poor folks, and there have always been the rich. It will always be that way. The Democratic Party is the party of procrastination. We, the people, want action now. We want the washed-out, degenerate, drug-addicted bums and scrubs removed from public streets and bushes. We need more funding from Washington to pay for more patrol officers and special drug task forces eager to destroy criminal intentions. Perhaps we could pass a law that bans any loud music emitting from cars that makes people cringe within a 50-foot radius. [continues 105 words]
A Felony Sentencing, However, Will Keep Adler Out Of This Year's Race For Governor Jonathan Adler, a Big Island medical marijuana advocate and Natural Law Party candidate for governor, has another court date Monday. But this time, he's going there to pick up about an ounce of marijuana that a state judge has ordered returned to him. Adler, 50, said he has an 8 a.m. appointment at Hilo District Court to pick up his "personal property" after District Judge Jeffrey Choi granted Adler's motion for the return of a Tupperware container and the marijuana. A court clerk confirmed the judge's order for return of the marijuana. [continues 383 words]
Big Isle Candidate Uses Marijuana For Treatment Of Pain HILO (AP) -- One of Hawaii's 20 candidates for governor has the right to get back nearly an ounce of marijuana seized by police from his wife last October, a judge has ruled. Jonathan Adler, a Natural Law Party candidate convicted last month of possessing more than 50 marijuana plants and drug paraphernalia, has to wait until Monday for the court to release the 27 grams of marijuana Adler contends he uses for treatment of chronic pain. [continues 342 words]
The statistics are sobering: "More than 90 percent of all child - abuse cases are directly related to ice," said Don Bebee, executive director of Family Support Services of West Hawaii. "It's a huge problem and it's growing," said County Councilwoman Nancy Pisicchio, who has been involved in organizing community awareness. >From awareness to prevention, treatment and successful prosecution, that's the trajectory of two major conferences taking place later this month along the Kohala Coast. More than 250 health, social service and law enforcement professionals have signed up for a conference Aug. 14 - 15 at the Outrigger Waikoloa, twice the number anticipated, conference organizers said. [continues 328 words]
Our country seemingly remains hell-bent on continuing to waste billions of dollars year after year on the longest waged war in U.S. history. Prison systems are overflowing with drug users and low level drug dealers; incarceration of youth is given a higher priority than educating them; and a huge and costly governmental/ corporate complex is erected, ostensibly designed to wage a war against drugs, but, in reality, completely dependent on the continued presence of "the enemy" in order to justify its very existence. [continues 471 words]
HILO - Councilmembers next week will take up a marijuana eradication mission report that states 14,425 plants were seized in June. Comparing that to the 3,133 plants seized in the May missions, Police Lt. Henry Tavares noted police have moved into what they consider to be the "peak season" for marijuana growing. Tavares, who leads the Hilo Vice section, said that season runs from June to September. More plants are eradicated during this time period because the height of the plants makes them easier to spot from the helicopter, he said. [continues 221 words]
There is much sad truth in Mike Coleman's recent column on the deplorable conditions in America's prisons. Unfortunately, Coleman begins his piece with the inaccurate claim that our prisons are full of nonviolent victims of the so-called "War on Drugs." According to the latest statistics, more than half of state prisoners are doing time for homicide, rape or other violent crimes. Another 40 percent are recidivist career criminals who may have gotten probation on their previous offenses but ended up back behind bars. [continues 133 words]
Since President Richard Nixon launched the "War on Drugs" 30-odd years ago, one thousand prisons have been built and our prisoner population, fueled by the drug-related offenders who have dominated it from that day to this, has skyrocketed from 200,000 to more than 2 million. There are 5.7 million Americans -- one in 50 -- on parole, probation or behind bars. The Land of the Free imprisons more of its citizens than any nation on Earth, and the long-term impact of this social holocaust has yet to be determined: there is no parallel for it in human history. [continues 1035 words]
Some may view the new policy of HPD handling crowing roosters to be a substantial waste of law enforcement's time. Not necessarily. Just take Wahiawa, for example. Many of those who have these nuisance animals within urban settings, may also likely be involved in the "ice" business, burglary, re-selling of stolen property, violations of parole, open warrants and other crimes against residents. When these birds go off at 2:30 a.m., I'm all for HPD making "unannounced" visits to these dwellings and cleaning house. It ain't just about the chickens. Kevin Gagan [end]
The Issue Big Island police have seized marijuana plants from patients using marijuana for medical purposes. Police on the Big Island apparently don't care much for a new state law allowing the cultivation and use of marijuana for medical use. Patients have been subjected to raids in the past month resulting in confiscation of plants and dried marijuana on the basis that they exceeded, if only slightly, the law's limits. Police should lighten up and grasp the spirit of the law. [continues 356 words]
Editor: Crystal methamphetamine or "ice" is a terrible problem within our community. Crime is increasing, families are being destroyed, spouses and children are being abused, and jobs are being lost as a direct result of this horrendous epidemic. As the level of suffering increases, popular opinion grows within our community that our government is not doing enough to address this serious crisis. Meanwhile, we watch the heavy investment in police, helicopters, and dollars to make "Operation Green Harvest" the success that it has been. [continues 453 words]
Is the statewide marijuana eradication campaign leading drug users to crystal methamphetamine? An 8-year-old study supports an ice-pot connection, and is making headlines on the Big Island, where concerned citizens are pressing county officials to junk costly Green Harvest raids in favor of cracking down on ice, aka batu ("Police violations," HW, 7/24). The ice/pot theory is not new, nor confined to Hawai'i County. The Institute for scientific Analysis of San Francisco found that crystal meth use in Honolulu during the 1980s was replacing pot use, most pointedly in low-income areas where marijuana had become scarce and expensive due to eradication (Cover Story, "High Anxiety," HW, 10/27/99). [continues 535 words]
It is a glorious event that England has sensibly rescheduled marijuana, lowering it to a class C. That is the least harmful classification that it has. Their government has made a rational choice to allow for personal use of a natural substance that has never killed anyone, thus, giving their law enforcement the freedom and ability to focus on drugs, violence and problems that really ARE harmful to citizens and society. I hope this intelligent decision will influence the U.S. and other European countries to review the real effects of marijuana and legitimately determine if those effects are threatening at all, or enough to merit depriving nonviolent citizens of their freedom, invading their privacy, giving them felony charges, and overcrowding our jails with so many casual cannabis users. [continues 156 words]
I just completed my Hawaiian vacation. I was deplored by the situation on Front Street in Lahaina. My family and I literally had to walk a gauntlet of teen drug users, pushers and characters who made obscene and insulting remarks to us as we passed them. I noticed that other tourists were also subjected to these indignities. This situation was particularly concentrated in the open beach area near the intersection with Papalaua Street. Teens blatantly were drinking, smoking crack and pot in front of tourists. One was even free-basing. I noticed that they would openly offer hits to teens that were walking with their families. In the week that I stayed in Lahaina I never spotted a policeman. Does Lahaina have a police department? [continues 115 words]
Editor: Terrorism, violent crime, drunk drivers - don't worry about them. Here on the Big Island we know we're safe. All that talk about rising crime rates and the need for improved security measures just doesn't apply here. That's obvious, since our police have so much time on their hands that they now can spend it arresting people with leukemia and muscular dystrophy for legally possessing marijuana. John A. Broussard Waimea [end]
Letter to the Editor There have been at least four front page, detailed reports in The Garden Island over the past two or three years about authorities destroying marijuana plants. The reports name as participants virtually every County, State, and Federal drug enforcement agency: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Kaua'i Police Department (KPD), Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), Hawaii Police Department (HPD), Hawaii Air National Guard, and more. The reports describe long hours of investigation, aerial recon, and combined task forces swooping in. Plants are cut down (does this kill the root?). Readers can imagine the drama. [continues 95 words]
A dramatic increase in crime sweeps Maui as police are swamped and local communities on alert. "Big drug dealers need tougher sentences." Citizen action urged. On July 1, after a day at work, Doug Baker came home to his Kihei residence to find that the place had been broken into, ransacked and basically "cleaned out" of all of his possessions. He lost cameras, jewelry, a coin collection, a variety of tools, a CD player, and a knife collection. Baker estimated the loss at around $7,000."Working in the construction and maintenance field, I need my tools to be employable," said Baker, "everything's gone, my air compressor, grinders, nail gun...everything." [continues 1311 words]
When Hawai'i became the first state to enact a medical marijuana law, legislators were praised for their progressive stance on a highly controversial issue. But two years later, the state's Medical Marijuana Program has yet to realize its full potential. Criticized by mainstream doctors, in conflict with federal law and held in low regard by many law enforcement officials, the program continues to tip-toe around the forces that opposed its enactment in the first place. Recent arrests of medical marijuana patients on the Big Island illustrate the problems that can occur when the program crosses paths with police more accustomed to battling marijuana in the war on drugs than upholding a law allowing limited use. [continues 792 words]
Every voice raised against the "War on Drugs" is made to sound like a voice in favor of using drugs. And yet, many of the problems of drug use are the consequence of our misguided drug policies. Respectable people like judges, governors and people in law enforcement, as well as the voters in several states, are publicly coming to that conclusion. Two years ago the Unitarian Universalist denomination launched a study of U.S. drug policies. What have decades of prohibition, heavy jail sentences, militarized enforcement, eradication programs in Third World countries and massive demonization programs produced? Drug use has continued. Drug entry points have multiplied. The huge amounts of money involved have distorted our own political process and social institutions as well as those of the source countries. We have the largest percentage of our population incarcerated of any country on the planet. We have spent billions of dollars on the so-called war on drugs. And drug use and abuse continues unabated. [continues 289 words]
Inside Hawaii
