Maui tripping
By David Shapiro
I don't know what it is with Maui legislators and marijuana, but in the past it was Rep. Joe Bertram III who tried to have the state all but roll joints for the pot smokers and this year it's Sen. J. Kalani English.
English wants the state to go beyond legalizing marijuana for medical use, which we already do along with 13 other states, and create licensed dispensaries to actually distribute medical marijuana.
I have no problem with the state allowing the medical use of marijuana for those with serious illnesses who believe pot brings them relief, but there's a difference between allowing its use and promoting its use as the English legislation would do.
His dispensaries would give marijuana exalted medical status over more established drugs by allowing pakalolo to bypass our rigorous national system for testing drugs and regulating their use according to accepted medical standards.
Without further research, marijuana is more folk remedy than proven medicine. There's no listing of what ailments marijuana has been proven to effectively treat, no dosing schedules, no standards of purity, no understanding of potentially negative side effects.
What are they going to do, dispense Kona Gold for pain, Maui Wowee for nausea and Puna Butter for seizures?
This is an issue affecting relatively few people, and they are capable of seeing to their own needs by either growing their pot themselves as provided by the state law or acquiring it on the market. There's not much risk in the latter since neither local nor federal authorities are prosecuting medical marijuana possession at this point. There's no need for a state marijuana bureaucracy.
The dispensaries proposed by English could exist only because the Obama administration is ignoring federal laws prohibiting medical marijuana; a future administration with different views could come down with both feet on state-licensed dispensaries.
Prescriptions for medical marijuana aren't hard to come by, as many doctors see it as relatively harmless even if they doubt its medicinal value. With state-licensed dispensaries, pot could become the new aspirin — take two reefers and call me in the morning.
In such an environment, it doesn't take a big stretch of the imagination to see much, if not most, of the "medical" marijuana being diverted to recreational use.
So I say the same thing I said last year: Instead of forever straining to put a fig leaf of medical respectability on weed, why not have an honest discussion about legalizing it, regulating it and taxing it for what it is — a recreational intoxicant like alcohol.
Volcanic Ash
January 19th, 2010 at 6:46 am
Aloha ~
Is there any greater hypocrisy in America today? Gardiner Harris, writing in the NY Times today points out, Marijuana is the only major drug for which the federal government controls the only legal research supply and for which the government requires a special scientific review.
The University of Mississippi remains the sole approved marijuana plantation and anyone wishing to study pakalolo must apply to the National Institute on Drug Abuse to use the Mississippi marijuana and get approvals from a special Public Health Service panel, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll released over the weekend reported 58% of Americans surveyed expressed favor for smaller government.
Yet we tolerate a dictatorial and heavy hand over a substance that has shown repeatedly and convincingly in studies to relieve nausea and improve appetite among cancer patients; alleviate the aching and numbness in patients suffering HIV and AIDS. Many more positive benefits are suggested ... but our government obstructs professional research.
U.S. taxpayers spend some $40 BILLION a year to harass, arrest and incarcerate non-violent herbal recreationists. We build more jails and prisons than schools. We clog our court systems; overload law enforcement; and waste valuable public dollars and resources while failing to significantly reduce consumption in this 80-year war on otherwise peace-loving Americans.
We claim to be capitalists. The American public demands this substance. Suppliers currently hide underground. This leads to other illegal activity and increases violence in society. Shine the light on these activities by regulating this market. We could use the tax revenues and likewise need to stop wasting precious tax dollars on a failed policy.
Dr. Richard Payne, director of the Institute for Care on the End of Life at Duke Divinity School, provides the most pragmatic summary:
It's not a great drug but what's the harm?
For more on this topic, please see scottgoold.org/drugwar.php
A*L*O*H*A
January 19th, 2010 at 7:49 am
Excellent entries, Dave AND Scott! Im not a pot-head. But Of all States in the entire nation, purely because of the highest quality of our crop, we should be looking at legalizing pakalolo.
Just curious. Can PSD or the Judiciary do an analysis of inmates and those on probabtion for marijuana-related convictions? Taking them off the books would also seem like a logical, cost saver.
January 19th, 2010 at 8:55 am
Agree with you on the medical side. With all of the urgent economic issues that need to be addressed, why are we spending on getting high?
Aloha,
Keahi
January 19th, 2010 at 9:28 am
Aloha Keahi ~
You asked a good question ... why are we spending on many recreational pursuits? HA reported yesterday that 90% of Hawai'i's households pay for cable TV and on O'ahu this runs some $1,183 per subscriber per year.
Beer and alcohol costs are extremely high. Tobacco consumption, although somewhat lower today due to increases in taxes, continues to addict about 25% of the population.
Most people now have cell phone service and smart phones, such as iPhones and Blackberries, run over $3,000 for a two-year service plan.
Malls were relatively packed over the holiday shopping season and I believe it was a banner year for New Year fireworks - shooting money into the sky.
Yet residents complain about possible increases in taxes to fund our public schools. Now you know why I am not sympathetic to these crocodile tears.
A*L*O*H*A
January 19th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
Hipoli, English has another bill decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana and making it a civil offense like a parking citation. This makes sense to get these people out of the criminal justice system.
I'll look for numbers on marijuana-related inmates and probationers, but my impression is that they are few, especially for possession-related convictions. A study by Lawrence Boyd at UH-West O'ahu estimated annual marijuana law enforcement costs in Hawai'i are about $10 million. He estimated we'd have a net gain of about $33 million from legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana.
January 19th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Aloha David and Hipoli ~
As a graduate student at the University of New Mexico in the late '90s I worked as a criminal justice researcher. About 15% of the population was incarcerated for non-violent minor drug charges (primarily marijuana possession).
This was similar to national and surrounding state information at the time. I think it would be a good ballpark estimate for discussion.
A*L*O*H*A
January 20th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Aloha All,
The problem with this bill is that the purpose of it is to generate additional revenue, but you really have to wonder how much revenue this bill will actually generate and secondly and perhaps more importantly, is it acceptable for our state governmemt to tax patients who depend on this remedy for pain relief to solve our bloated budget problem? There has to be a better way!
January 20th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Aloha Dan O ~
Good points ... yet med MJ patients are currently paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $400/oz. If we allowed market forces to operate - if sales were legal - prices would come way down, as pakalolo is a weed that is easy to grow. Let's say prices might drop to around $100/oz. Then government could tax at 100% bringing the price to $200/oz.
This would be better for all. The product would be more reliable and likely safer yet less expensive for users. Government would save not having to arrest, adjudicate and incarcerate and benefit from new tax revenues.
Of course, I for one am open to any better suggestions. Go for it ...
A*L*O*H*A