POT ADVOCATES AWARDED $75,000

Hawaii County will pay $75,000 to settle a civil lawsuit filed by two
marijuana advocates who claimed they were unfairly prosecuted for their
controversial views.

The Hawaii County Council voted 6 - 3 Tuesday to pay the money to Aaron
Anderson and Roger Christie, who in 1995 sued the county, Prosecutor Jay
Kimura and then - deputy prosecutor Kay Iopa, now a private defense attorney.

Tired and financially drained from fighting the county over what started
with his 1991 arrest for receiving hemp seeds, the 64 - year - old Anderson
said he'll accept the settlement with mixed feelings.

"Chances are we wouldn't get much more than $75,000 anyway in state court,"
he said of a trial that would have started Nov. 3.

Anderson in April lost a similar federal lawsuit after a judge removed
Christie as a plaintiff and ruled the civil rights claims should be pursued
in the state's venue.

Christie said failure at the federal level weakened the remaining claim,
under which the two had first sought $1 million.

"It felt like the ideal time to move on and get a win," he said. "This
decision shows that it's possible to turn negatives into positives in my life."

Accepting the settlement requires the plaintiffs to give up the right to
appeal the federal ruling, said attorney Steven Strauss, who represented
both Anderson and Christie.

After expenses, Anderson said he will clear about $20,000, which he will
spend to fix his teeth, hold a party for his supporters and buy a lot next
to his Puna Palisades home.

Strauss, whose fees were not added to the settlement amount, will earn
approximately $16,000, with the balance going to Christie, who will get a
smaller share due to his late arrival to the lawsuit, Anderson said.

Because the settlement is a fraction of the original demand, Anderson said
none of the money will be used to start a civil rights training center or
to fund a drug - awareness program. He had promised to use a sizable
portion of the original amount for those purposes.

The plaintiffs originally sought $1 million, but the council in April 2000
rejected paying that amount.

Lawmakers on Tuesday favored the latest offer, which Glenn Shiigi, a county
civil attorney, said was chosen by state Judge Riki May Amano during a
settlement conference held last month.

South Kona Councilwoman Nancy Pisicchio, who voted to approve the $75,000
offer, said she worried the county, which is self - insured, would end up
paying far more money if the case went to trial.

"I don't think we would have had a chance of winning because we were at
fault," she said.

As a result of the case, Pisicchio said she hopes county attorneys will
become more knowledgeable of the law and that the council will receive
better representation from the Corporation Counsel's Office, which defends
the county against civil lawsuits.

"This isn't an isolated example of the county being found at fault in a
legal proceeding," she said.

The county is appealing another civil case in which jurors in December 1999
found the county must pay $2.9 million of a $4.9 million award resulting
from the rigging of promotions within the Police Department.

In voting to pay the settlement to Anderson and Christie, Pisicchio was
joined by Hilo lawmakers James Arakaki, Aaron Chung and Bobby Jean Leithead
- - Todd. Ka'u Councilwoman Julie Jacobson and North Kona Councilman Curtis
Tyler also endorsed making the payment.

Opposing votes were cast by Puna Councilman Gary Safarik, Dominic Yagong
from Hamakua and Kohala representative Leningrad Elarionoff.

"I just don't feel that we should pay them anything," Safarik said. "I feel
that the county was justified in their prosecution."

The plaintiffs alleged civil rights violations, economic damage, malicious
prosecution and abuse of process stemming from their 1991 arrest for
accepting delivery of 25 pounds of hemp seeds.

Police seized the shipment and arrested Anderson and Christie, who claimed
the seeds were sterile and therefore legal because they could not be used
to grow marijuana.

The two men, who planned to use the seeds to make food products and support
the activities of the Hawaii Hemp Council, were then indicted on the charge
of promoting marijuana.

The criminal charge against Christie was dropped in 1995, while the trial
against Anderson ended in 1997 with a deadlocked jury. Prosecutors' efforts
for a second trial were denied in 1998 when a Big Island judge dismissed
the case.

The civil lawsuits in both federal and state court ensued.

Following the council's action Tuesday, the plaintiffs listed the benefits
of their struggle.

Anderson said the "rabid prosecutor" Iopa no longer works for the county
and progress has been made on the marijuana crusade, pointing to the
legalization medical marijuana and an Oahu study of the benefits of hemp, a
non - intoxicating form of the plant.

Strauss noted the case showed that not all hemp products are illegal in
Hawaii and that government employees are not entitled to immunity from
their actions.