FEDS MAY START THEIR OWN POT ERADICATION PLAN

Should Hawaii County refuse to accept a $282,000 federal Drug
Enforcement Administration grant for the island's marijuana
eradication program, there is a possibility federal authorities will
initiate their own eradication program, a DEA official said Friday.

Garrison Courtney, a DEA official in Washington, D.C., said his
agency typically tries to respect the efforts of local jurisdictions
in controlling illegal drugs like marijuana.

"There's a possibility" the DEA would initiate it's own marijuana
eradication program on the Big Island if the local Police Department
was unable to control the problem and if it were discovered harvested
crops were being shipped to the mainland, he said.

If the DEA feels there is a trafficking problem, "then yes, we're
most likely going to step in to relieve the trafficking," Courtney said.

Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna expressed concerns this week regarding
the possibility of the County Council voting against accepting the
grant money. The Police Department has very little funding from
previous grants remaining for the eradication program, which has been
operating on a minimal basis in recent months.

The latest DEA grant available is sorely needed to continue the
program, Mahuna said, and he believes the program will eventually be
taken over by the DEA if the council refuses the money.

Mahuna also said he is concerned that, should the council decide to
not accept the grant, the DEA would be able to operate the program
outside of the parameters established by the council. For instance,
the council has control over how low to the ground police helicopters
can fly when searching for marijuana crops.

Courtney said if the DEA initiated an eradication program on the
island, it would attempt to respect laws of the local government, but
the bottom line is the agency operates under federal regulations, not
laws established by local governments.

Council members who were asked Thursday on how they plan to vote on
the grant issue were all over the board; some are on the fence, some
favor the program and others are against it.

Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole said she's against the program because
she's heard too many stories from constituents about police using
violence in drug raids.

Courtney, however, said DEA officials also have to resort to violence
sometimes when making busts.

Drug dealers and people responsible for growing illegal marijuana
crops are "not going to greet you with a smile and a handshake," he said.

"The unfortunate part about drug enforcement is the violence," Courtney said.

When law enforcement authorities show up at a home of a person
responsible for growing large quantities of marijuana, because
there's usually a lot of cash at stake and the notion the person will
end up in jail for a long time, "there's going to be violence," he said.

The council's Finance Committee is slated to discuss the grant during
an April 8 meeting, and the full council is expected to vote on it
during a subsequent meeting.