DRUG FORUM CONCERNED ABOUT MARIJUANA LAW

The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii shares your concern about the slow
pace of progress on the implementation of the medical marijuana law.
Members of the forum's board have been in communication with the
Department of Public Safety since the bill passed the Legislature last
spring.

Ironically, Hawaii's medicinal marijuana law does not say that rules
must be in place before registered, qualified patients with a doctor's
certification may seek relief by using medical marijuana. In fact, the
law gives the Department of Public Safety little more than the role of
keeping a record of patients who have provided the information
required by the act.

Yet, as you astutely point out, the Narcotics Reinforcement Division's
central mission may have interfered with its ability to promote a
workable set of rules. We agree that oversight of medical marijuana
might be better handled by a different agency.

Jeff Crawford,
Chairman, Committee on Medical Marijuana Rules Board of Directors,
Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii