Advocates See the Plant As a Potential Commodity for the State

University of Hawaii researchers are poised to start their first harvest of industrial hemp in Waimanalo, while crop advocates explore opportunities to tap into the multimillion-dollar demand for the plant's products in the United States.

Advocates estimate some $600 million in hemp is imported into the U.S. annually.

"Our small little plot is the beginning of what I believe will be a major agricultural crop for Hawaii," said state Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua-Kaneohe). "These plants are amazing."

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About 1,100 Applications Are Handled a Month, and It Is Expected to Double in 2016

State health officials say they're looking to streamline the application process for medical marijuana patient cards - which some local physicians say is unduly burdensome - ahead of the first pot dispensaries to open in Hawaii next year.

The fixes could be critical for the state Department of Health if it is to keep up with the demand once dispensaries open in the state. The department, which processes about 1,100 applications a month for new cards and annual renewals, expects that number could double in 2016.

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Marijuana has been quasilegal in the Netherlands for about 40 years, yet the Dutch use cannabis at less than half the rate Americans do ("Legal pot will lead to more addiction," Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 25).

And they use cocaine and heroin at about a third the rate Americans do.

Why? Because in the Netherlands, there is no "lure of the forbidden fruit" like there is in America.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.

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Bill Funk and Rep. Marcus Oshiro have not been paying attention to actual data coming out of Colorado ("More pot means more problems," Star-Advertiser, Letters, June 17; "For-profit marijuana will be dangerous," Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, June 14).

Since legalizing marijuana, Colorado has seen an 8.9 percent drop in property crime and an increase of $40.9 million into the state's coffers. It also is not wasting taxpayer dollars on adjudicating marijuana offenses, at a cost of $300 per case, so that is saving the state money.

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Joann Breeden's letter is both misinformed and misleading ("Legal pot will lead to more addiction," Star-Advertiser, June 25).

The pending legislation does not legalize marijuana. It sets up a tightly regulated dispensary system designed to undercut the black market while providing registered patients with medicine their doctors recommend.

Marijuana doesn't "stop working"; unlike hard drugs, it doesn't create a tolerance in users.

Of course drug users start with marijuana; it's the most widely used psychoactive substance in the world after alcohol.

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People of Hawaii need education regarding the perils of legal marijuana.

I'm an addiction counselor and worked in alcohol and drug treatment centers for 25 years. About 94 percent of patients I worked with started their chemical use with marijuana. When the drug stopped working, patients used other drugs to get high.

Along with increased chemical abuse, other crimes committed included physical violence, murder and robbery.

Do the people of Hawaii want crime and alcohol and drug addiction to increase? If people don't want this inevitable outcome of legalizing marijuana, learn the truth about addiction.

Legislators are supposed to be looking out for us. Remember, politicians only do what is good for themselves, not the right thing. People need to get involved to help save Hawaii families from addiction.

Joann Breeden

Kahuku

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As suggested by state Rep. Marcus Oshiro, let us hope Gov. David Ige vetoes the medical marijuana bill and allows Hawaii to benefit from the mistakes of others before we plunge into the unknown.

In California, anyone who claims a headache, finds the right doctor and has $100 gets a license to buy at the pot shops. We can expect the same pattern here. The intent to give compassionate relief to those who really need marijuana has turned into a sophisticated mechanism that could easily be transformed into a legalized for-profit recreational pot industry. The powerful marijuana lobby is preparing the way for this to happen.

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I hope Gov. David Ige will not sign into law House Bill 321, the medical marijuana dispensary bill. It will be a disaster for Hawaii.

This bill isn't simply about providing medical marijuana safely to those needing the drug. It lays a foundation for establishing multimillion-dollar marijuana businesses. I believe there is a movement by proponents of this bill to legalize marijuana usage, which federal law prohibits.

As a retired police officer, I know the laws would be unenforceable. If signed into law, it will be devastating to our Hawaiian culture, our children and grandchildren. Let's protect Hawaii's future generations, not leave a legacy of shame.

Jeff Yamashita

Waipahu

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Rep. Marcus Oshiro is apparently content to recycle prohibitionist talking points without doing any background research ("For-profit marijuana will be dangerous," Star-Advertiser, Insight, June 14).

Legal marijuana is not a "new idea in the world." Marijuana has been safely used by humans for millennia. Marijuana prohibition is the new idea.

The first marijuana laws were enacted in response to Mexican immigration during the early 1900s, despite opposition from the American Medical Association. Prior to the federal Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (sic), marijuana use was limited to border migrant communities and black jazz musicians in New Orleans. Dire warnings that marijuana inspires homicidal rages in dark-skinned minorities have been counterproductive at best.

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In 2000, Act 28 made Hawaii one of the first states to authorize the use of marijuana to treat certain debilitating medical conditions. Act 28, however, was silent on how to legally obtain a patient or caregiver's first seed to cultivate their crop or otherwise legally acquire medical marijuana, leaving patients and even law enforcement in a conundrum.

Fast forward 15 years and Hawaii may soon join a growing number of states that have authorized dispensaries to distribute marijuana for medical use if House Bill 321, Relating to Medical Marijuana, is enacted. The 2015 state Legislature, based on remarks from opening day ceremonies, set as a goal to close the gap between the authorized use of medical marijuana and the legal means of acquiring it. A well-regulated dispensaries system may address both patient and law enforcement needs.

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I believe marijuana has a place in the treatment of disease. However, forprofit growing and selling marijuana, even for medical use, is a dangerous and untested social experiment on Hawaii's people and is not consistent with local values and culture. Not-for-profit or co-ops or limited imports are viable alternatives.

First, legalization of for-profit growing and selling of marijuana is a new idea in the world. Further, only 11 of 23 medical marijuana U.S. states have actual operating experience, and the average retail store experience in those states is only about two years.

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HB 321 Could Lead to a $65 Million a Year Industry and Hundreds of New Jobs, They Say

Medical marijuana promoters say dispensaries in Hawaii could create a lucrative new market with up to 800 jobs and $65 million a year in sales.

House Bill 321 - which allows for 16 dispensaries to open in Hawaii on July 15, 2016, and potentially many more the following year - is now in Gov. David Ige's hands.

If he signs it into law, the race will be on to see who can get the eight licenses allowed, build their greenhouses and open retail spaces to begin selling marijuana legally in Hawaii for the first time.

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With the passage of the medical marijuana dispensary bill House Bill 321, Hawaii is returning to the compassionate spirit that prevailed when our Legislature was first in the country to legalize medical cannabis in 2000. Strong majorities in both chambers sent a carefully crafted piece of legislation to the desk of Gov. David Ige, where it awaits his signature.

If, as we hope and expect, he signs it into law, the long-suffering, seriously ill patients of Hawaii will soon be able to procure their essential medicine at a safe and legal retail location. KAT WADE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISE R This legal cannabis plant in Mililani was used to make a tincture to treat a girl for seizures. With the passage of legislation establishing marijuana dispensaries in Hawaii, the debate continues over how the facilities and their products should be regulated.

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At the onset, I believe marijuana has a place in the treatment of disease. However, for-profit growing and selling of marijuana, even for medical use, would be a bad untested social experiment on Hawaii's people. Hawaii's citizens are not laboratory rats. Not-for-profit or co-operatives or limited imports are better aligned with Hawaii's values.

First, legalizing for-profit selling of marijuana is a new idea in the world. The USA and Uruguay and not the Netherlands or Jamaica, are the only places that allow for legal production and sales. Interestingly, in the US only 11 of 23 medical marijuana states or less than half have any actual operating experience. Furthermore, the average retail store experience is about two years. Consequently, 24 months of social-science evidence at best may justify a pilot project but not a permanent laissez-faire policy built on such skimpy evidence.

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I read with shock and dismay your front-page story about building hemp homes ("The house that hemp built," Star-Advertiser, June 4).

Don't people realize that hemp is a dangerous "gateway plant" that invariably leads users down a slippery slope of botanical addiction?

It's high time we nipped this nefarious practice in the bud - before people begin making bricks from peyote cacti and poppy plant stems.

John Wythe White Haleiwa

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Former NBA Coach Don Nelson Touts the Benefits of Building With the Plant

KIHEI, MAUI - Building one of the first homes in Hawaii made of hemp has left Hall of Fame NBA coach Don Nelson open to some friendly ribbing from his Maui neighbors. "Most of them think they can smoke it," Nelson said. While industrial hemp used in the construction of homes comes from the same cannabis sativa plant species as marijuana, it contains only a small amount of tetrahydrocannabinol - the psychoactive chemical that creates the marijuana high.

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A Florida-based consulting company will host a medical marijuana seminar at a Waikiki hotel next month to explain the business opportunities linked to the potential legalization of pot dispensaries in Hawaii.

Fifteen years after medical marijuana was legalized in Hawaii, the Legislature passed a bill this month approving a system of medical marijuana dispensaries statewide by next summer. Gov. David Ige is expected to sign House Bill 321 into law, and dispensaries are projected to open as early as July 2016.

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Very little about public policy happens in a vacuum, least of all Hawaii's belated move to fully implement its 15-year-old medical marijuana law, after letting things languish for so long.

When medical marijuana became legal, Hawaii was at the front of the pack among states liberalizing controls of the drug, moving first to allow its use for relief of pain and other physical symptoms. Now the long-awaited authorization of dispensaries for the delivery of marijuana to those holding a medical prescription has been overtaken by decisions in other states to legalize it entirely.

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Howard Wooldridge, a Washington lobbyist, is a former detective and forever Texan on an important mission - trying to persuade the 535 members of Congress to end the federal war on marijuana.

Liberals tend to be an easier sell than conservatives. With liberals, Wooldridge dwells on the grossly racist way the war on drugs has been prosecuted.

"The war on drugs," he tells them, "has been the most immoral policy since slavery and Jim Crow."

Conservatives hear a different argument, but one that Wooldridge holds every bit as dear: "Give it back to the states."

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Lawmakers OK a Bill That Provides for 16 Dispensaries, With Some Predicting a Look at Full Legalization Later On

In its last major act of this year's session, the Legislature has sent Gov. David Ige a bill that would give thousands of medical marijuana patients access to dispensaries in Hawaii. The Senate voted unanimously and the House voted 36-13 to pass House Bill 321, which allows for 16 medical pot dispensaries across the state, including six on Oahu. The move comes 15 years after state leaders authorized the prescription and use of the drug but failed to create a dispensary system where patients could purchase it, leaving patients to cultivate the pot on their own or acquire it on the black market.

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