FEDERAL FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR MARIJUANA ERADICATION

HILO - Federal funding for the Big Island's marijuana eradication
program has been made available, but it's unclear whether the Hawaii
County Council will choose to accept it.

Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna reported Wednesday that the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration is ready to provide a $282,000 grant for
the island's marijuana eradication program.

Bending to complaints raised basy residents opposed to the
eradication program, the council last year voted to not include any
grant funding for it in the 2007-08 budget.

Mahuna said prior grant funding the county received for the program
is "down to nothing" and that the eradication program is "working
very minimally" because of a lack of money.

He said he expected to receive word from the DEA about the latest
federal grant much sooner and is uncertain why it wasn't made
available until only last week.

If the council decides to accept the federal funding, a budget
amendment would have to be made in order for the county to accept it.

Mahuna said he's hopeful the council decides to accept the money
because if the county discontinues the program, he believes the DEA
will continue it -- and not operate under the parameters established
by the council for the Police Department.

With local authorities overseeing the program, the council has the
ability to set operational altitude limitations for helicopters used
for locating illegal marijuana crops, he said.

The program's use of helicopters has been one of the biggest
complaints raised by eradication -opponents. Mahuna said he believes
the DEA would fly helicopters much closer to the ground than the
Police Department.

"Hopefully, the council will see in their wisdom to continue the
eradication program," he said. "Either you have the Police Department
do it and the council has input to the height limitations or you
allow the federal government, which doesn't come under the auspices
of county government, do what they have to do. ... I would rather not
have the federal government come in and do that kind of eradication
action. I would rather we do it."

Regarding the amount of money the DEA has made available, Mahuna
acknowledged it's a lot less than the $370,000 he reported last year
the county stands to receive for the program. However, he doesn't
know why the amount is about $90,000 less than expected.

Also, the county is supposed to receive about $160,000 in federal
funds allocated by the state for the program this fiscal year, but
Mahuna said he's heard nothing about that allotment yet.

The council's Finance Committee will consider whether to accept the
federal grant on April 8, and then the full council will consider it
during a subsequent meeting.

Hamakua Councilman Dominic Yagong, chairman of the Finance Committee,
said the matter was originally slated for discussion during Monday's
Finance Committee meeting but was moved to the April 8 meeting
because, among other reasons, the county is scheduled to hold a
budget hearing Monday after committee meetings.

Yagong said residents will turn out in force to offer comments on the
federal marijuana eradication program money and it makes better sense
to hold off on the matter until April 8 because of the heavy agenda on Monday.