MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULES SET

People with serious illnesses can begin legally using marijuana under state
law on Dec. 28, but the new law is vague on how patients can obtain the drug
while state and federal regulations clash on its use.

Under administrative rules approved Monday by Gov. Ben Cayetano, patients
who want to legally use marijuana to treat or alleviate severe pain are
required to get an annual written certificate approved by their physician.

The law allows people to use the drug if they have a "debilitating medical
condition" such as cancer, glaucoma or AIDS, or for a condition that causes
pain, nausea, seizures or other problems.

State public safety director Ted Sakai, whose department will administer the
application program, made the forms for patient certificates available to
physicians starting yesterday.

Cayetano signed the medical marijuana law in June, but it took months for
state officials to come up with rules dealing with its use following a
public hearing last month. The provisions include:

A yearly $25 fee from patients for the written certificate issued by the
physician, who must be licensed to practice in Hawai`i and authorized to
deal with controlled substances.

A requirement that the individual marijuana user or caregiver be allowed to
raise no more than seven marijuana plants for medical use. An allowable
supply is considered up to three ounces of marijuana, three mature marijuana
plants and four immature plants.

The law will not allow people to raise marijuana in abundance as part of a
for-profit distribution business for medical patients, Sakai said.

A requirement that physicians notify the state if they determine that a
patient's condition no longer warrants the medical use of marijuana.

Sakai said the rules do not require physicians to ensure that the patient
doesn't exceed the amount of marijuana allowed by state law.

"It is the patient's responsibility, not the physician's, to comply with
this provision of the law," Sakai said.

Still illegal under federal law

Under federal law, it is illegal to possess or use marijuana. Sakai said
state officials plan to discuss the issue with federal authorities, because
it was unclear whether federal officials would still prosecute anyone using
or raising marijuana for medical purposes.

"I think it is something they would decide on a case-by-case basis," said
Keith Kamita, chief of the state's narcotics enforcement division under the
state Department of Public Safety.

Sakai said a development that may affect Hawai`i's medical marijuana program
is a pending U.S. Supreme Court case brought by the federal government to
stop a group from selling marijuana to patients under California law
legalizing medical marijuana.

Tom Mountain, a medical marijuana advocate who runs the non-profit Honolulu
Medical Marijuana Patients' Co-op, said the new law is flawed, but calledit
"a good, first step."

"The main drawback is you still cannot buy and sell marijuana, so how do you
legally distribute it to the patients?" said Mountain, who periodically uses
marijuana to deal with pain from a severe spinal-cord injury.

To deal with that dilemma, Mountain said his co-op provides patients with
marijuana donated by underground growers, and asks and accepts whatever
monetary donations patients can make.

"I usually ask for a $25 donation for about an eighth of an ounce of
marijuana, but many patients can't afford to make donations because of high
medical bills, so the growers sometimes have to eat the costs," he said.

Mountain said he is afraid "misinformation and intimidation" may discourage
some doctors from prescribing marijuana to their patients for medical
purposes.

Kamita noted that federal law still prohibits the transporting of marijuana
between islands by mail or through an airport. That means medical marijuana
will have to be supplied from the patient's island of residence.

"The reason is anything dealing with the airport or postal system is under
federal jurisdiction," Kamita said.

Sakai did not know how many patients were expected to sign up for the
program, but said those who use medical marijuana and fail to apply could
face criminal prosecution. A 24-hour phone hotline will allow medical
marijuana patients to show proof they are registered under state records to
legally use the drug, said Sakai.

"Law enforcement officers who arrest someone for marijuana possession will
be able to verify if the person is registered to legally use marijuana," he
said.

Physicians who are interested in obtaining these forms, or who have
questions regarding the certification process, can call the state Narcotics
Enforcement Division at 594-0150.