MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGISLATION DEAD IN HAWAI’I FOR 1999 SESSION

Proponents Lament "Lack of Political Will" by House & Senate Judiciary Committee Chairs

HONOLULU - The medical Cannabis (AKA marijuana) issue is sidelined until Y2K in Hawai’i after stiff opposition from law enforcement. Dr. Donald Topping, President of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai’i said, "We have heard all of the law-enforcement arguments and they simply would not have stood up under the scrutiny of a public hearing. With the health issues seemingly resolved, we were hopeful that the bills would have a fair hearing in the Judiciary Committees where the law enforcement issues could be addressed."

The two model bills had earlier sailed through the House and Senate Health Committees after testimony by many patients about the medical benefits of medical Cannabis. Senator Suzanne Chun-Oakland, Chair of the Senate Health Committee said, "I was not entirely convinced until after I had heard the patients speak."

Clearly the issue had run up against formidable opposition from state and local federal law enforcement.
See
In Hawaii Two Police Helicopters Supposedly Used In "Marijuana Eradication"
Flew Low Over Activist’s Home One Day After He Testified Before The Legislature
In Support Of Medical Marijuana! Trying To Eradicate Dissent?
In a letter to Representative Paul Oshiro, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Dr. Richard S. Miller, wrote, "Law enforcement officials are not necessarily the most knowledgeable experts on state policy. Their job is to execute the laws, not to make policy. To defer to the views of law enforcement officials, to not hear opposing views supported by knowledgeable experts, and to prevent concerned and ailing citizens who would benefit by the bill to testify is very dangerous in a democratic society." Miller, former Dean and Professor Emeritus of the Richardson School of Law developed the Senate-incorporated language legally protecting Hawai’i physicians, whether they choose to recommend marijuana or not to patients. Fearing possible legal ramifications, the Hawai’i Medical Association had opposed the legislation.

Ironically, the stonewalling by the Hawai’i legislature was playing out at the very moment the medical marijuana issue is garnering unprecedented attention and support around the world. Efforts to permit the legal use of medical marijuana gained great momentum in November when voters in Alaska, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington joined Californians in approving initiatives exempting patients who use the plant from criminal penalties. Voters in Arizona reaffirmed a medical marijuana initiative passed two years ago, and rejected a legislative requirement banning physicians from prescribing marijuana until the drug receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Medical marijuana has been overwhelmingly approved in virtually every jurisdiction around the country in which the issue has been put to a vote.

Recently, leaders of 17 national AIDS organizations called on White House officials to legalize medical marijuana for seriously ill patients, and only last week, a United Nations International Drug Control Board report called for "clinical tests of marijuana" and "recommends ending the politicized debate over using marijuana for medical needs by conducting in-depth and impartial scientific research into its possible benefits for some patients." Clinical tests are also underway in Britain, but in some other European nations therapeutic use of marijuana is already allowed. Earlier this week, Canada’s Health Minister, Allan Rock announced in the House of Commons that he would officially support clinical trials for marijuana in order to "ease the pain and symptoms of such debilitating diseases as glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, cancer, epilepsy, AIDS or arthritis" of the estimated 20,000 Canadians who use marijuana for their medical conditions. "Canadians who are suffering deserve government help," the health minister said.

On March 2, 1999, Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass) reintroduced legislation in the U.S. Congress to provide for the medical use of marijuana.
See
Federal Bill Reintroduced To Legalize Medical Marijuana
- NORML Special News Bulletin

Frank noted, "What we need to do to get marijuana into the hands of people suffering is to set aside the federal controls on marijuana, so the states can determine this issue for themselves." R. Keith Stroup, Esq., NORML founder and National Director, who worked with Frank’s office in drafting the bill said the legislation is a streamlined effort to get marijuana to those who require it. "Historically, states have been more receptive to the medical use of marijuana than has the federal government," Stroup explained, noting that 36 state legislatures have passed laws recognizing marijuana’s medical value. "This legislation effectively gets the federal government out of the way of those states that wish to make marijuana available as a medicine."

On March 1, twelve members of the Big Island’s Cannabis For Health patient organization made the painful trek to O’ahu in a vain attempt to convince individual State House and Senate Judiciary Committee Members to "at least hear the bills." Co-Founder, Glenn Robinette said, "Our U.S. Senator Dan Inouye supports medical Cannabis, Governor Cayetano introduced and would have likely signed the legislation, both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees had excellent bills before them - drafted after having had the benefit of six other states experience with the issue - and some of Hawaii’s finest legal minds have had direct input. The only thing lacking was the political will in the Legislature. Once again, Hawai’i has missed the boat and people here will continue to suffer."
See
Governor Of Hawaii Proposes State Medical Marijuana Law;
"We need to be at the forefront of treatment." Aloha!