HB 2678 SUPPORT

The most critical issue facing Hawaii medical marijuana patients is the acquisition of their medicine. The Hawaii Revised Statute states that legal medical marijuana patients can acquire and possess their medicine, but patients have no choice but to acquire from an unregulated and unethical black market. It is not in the interest of Hawai'i's public health to force patients into this "black market."

The important question is: How does a patient who is diagnosed with cancer and to undergo chemotherapy immediately acquire the medicine that his/her doctor recommends? In this case, there is not enough time for the patient to grow, harvest and cure the medicine that will help with nausea during immediate chemotherapy treatments, and any stress from buying medicine from drug dealers will not help the health of the patient.

Because of conflicts with federal law, Hawaii does not provide for a legal means of supplying marijuana. The law does not address the issue of whether or not patients can form growing co-operatives. Allowing patients to form collective and co-operative operations help individual patients to have their needs met immediately. There appears to be an option to amend Hawaii's law accordingly: Amend the law so that many patients can have a grow site operation together in one place. According to the statutes, a medical marijuana patient must control (through lease or ownership) the area of the grow site.

HCR 10 was introduced to the state of Hawai'i House of Representatives on January 22, 2007, and addresses theses issues by creating an allotment system allowing agriculturally zoned family farmers on the island of Maui to supply the medical marijuana needs of the community by securing and leasing individual plots of land to individual patients.

Although the State of Hawai'i has had its medical marijuana program in place for seven years, it is time to rectify some of the problematic aspects of the law. For the majority of Hawai'i's medical marijuana patients, it is extremely difficult to consistently grow medical-grade marijuana to continuously meet one's needs. Theft, mold, bug infestation, disease, lacking knowledge of successful growing and curing techniques and time consuming trial and error are just a few of the issues patients face.

Allowing patients to grow together in a secure location will make it easier for patients and law enforcement. There will be no need for marijuana eradication helicopters to fly low over patients' grow sites counting plants. Patients will be able to help each other acquire medicine so as to avoid the "black market."

This resolution does not violate federal or state law. This resolution does not allow for the sale of marijuana. Money will be exchanged only over the land leases to individual patients.