MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGAL IN ISLES

A new Hawaii law says people diagnosed with debilitating illnesses
can legally possess and use marijuana - but they can't legally buy
it.

And people selling it will be arrested.

These are the quandaries posed by the medical marijuana bill, which
was signed into law yesterday by Gov. Ben Cayetano. The law allows for
the use of marijuana for medical purposes when a person is diagnosed
by a licensed physician to be suffering from a debilitating illness
such as cancer, AIDS or glaucoma.

Federal law, however, prohibits the legalization of marijuana sales.
Thus Hawai`i law enforcement and public safety representatives were
left scratching their heads yesterday as to how this will work.

"The bill certainly has some problems with where and how they're going
toget their medical marijuana," said Keith Kamita, state public safety
narcotics administrator. "The bill is very specific, and the sale and
distribution to the patient is still illegal. The Legislature will
have to go back and look at that issue."

Right now, patients who are diagnosed and certified to use marijuana
for medical reasons have no choice but to approach street dealers and
illegal growers for an "adequate supply" - which is not to exceed
three mature marijuana plants, four immature marijuana plants and one
ounce of usable pot, according to the law.

Kamita said he also fears that some Hawai`i residents will view this
law as a green light to abuse pot.

"I think there's some misinformation out in the public that they can
just grow it without authorization, and we want to caution them that
they must be certified by this agency before they embark on growing
marijuana," Kamita said.

State officials anticipate that the medical marijuana certification
process, which will start with Hawai`i's licensed physicians, will
take two months to establish.

Tom Mountain, who uses marijuana occasionally for pain from a spinal
cord injury, said he worries about slow and sloppy implementation of
the law.

"So if your mom goes in for her physical tomorrow, and she finds out
she has cancer and has to start chemotherapy next week, how is she
going to get the marijuana to keep her from throwing up?" Mountain
said. "There's not enough time to grow it. Do you want your mom out on
the streets looking for it?"

Mountain said his group, Hawai`i Green Cross, would like to set up a
marijuana distribution center in Hawai`i for people who are certified
for medical marijuana use. He says the center would be state and
federally supervised and would control the quality of the marijuana,
as well as provide the right marijuana to the right people.

Donald Topping, president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai`i, said
giventhe federal drug restrictions, this law is a big step for Hawai`i.

"The bill does have shortcomings," Topping said. "For example, sales
and distribution being illegal ... and I think registration should be
with the Department of Health rather than the Department of Safety. It
still suggests that this is a law enforcement issue, when we feel it
is a health issue."

The Rev. Dennis Shields said he's pleased to see the law. Shields lost
his 7-year-old son, Ryan, to cancer but asserts that marijuana stopped
his son's uncontrolled vomiting and eased his suffering for the last
part of his life.

Shields took his son to Kapi`olani Medical Center for Women and
Children, where the boy's doctor suggested marijuana as a treatment.

"My son had over 117 stitches in his stomach and was vomiting all the
time," Shields said. "We used to bring cannabis into his room and
smoke with him all the time. The vomiting stopped, and he lived 18
months longer than doctors anticipated."

Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human
Services Committee, emphasized that Hawai`i's law is not a move toward
total legalization. Oakland, (D-Palama, `FClewa Heights), said the
law simply supports medical research and many hours of testimony on
the benefits of medical marijuana.

And Cayetano said, "If the law is abused, I won't be surprised if
there is a legislative move to repeal it."

The law is unique to Hawai`i because it was passed through legislative
measures instead of voter initiatives. Similar laws have been passed
in California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Maine, Nevada and
the District of Columbia.