HAWAII POISED TO BECOME MEDICAL MARIJUANA STATE

The Senate has approved the measure and Cayetano has said he would
sign it

Hawaii is on the way to becoming the eighth state to legalize
marijuana for medical use.

The bill passed the state Senate yesterday 15-to-l0 and now goes to
Gov. Ben Cayetano, who has said he would sign it.

Patients would have to grow the drug themselves after getting a
certificate from a doctor. Armed with the certificate a patient or
care giver would get a permit from the state department of public safety.

"This bill will protect from arrest both the patient who might find
a usefor marijuana and the doctor who might recommend its use," Sen.
Suzanne Chun Oakland, chairman of the Health and Human Services
Committee, said during debate on the measure yesterday.

But critics, such as Sen. Norman Sakamoto, questioned why the
Legislature would approve a bill that allowed patients to get
something the federal government says is illegal.

"We are promoting the health state, give me a break," he
said.

According to an Associated Press survey, Hawaii would become the
eighth state to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana.

Alaska, Washington, California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Maine and the
District of Columbia have approved laws allowing doctors to recommend
marijuana use by patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma and other
conditions.

Under the Hawaii plan, which is similar to the one adopted in Oregon,
authorized patients would have to grow their own marijuana.

Conditions that would allow marijuana to be prescribed include:
cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, chronic conditions such as epileptic
seizures or muscle spasms characteristic of multiple sclerosis or
Crohn's disease.

Pamela Lichty, president of the board of the American Civil Liberties
Union of Hawaii, said it appeared only 300 people or fewer in Hawaii
would qualify,

She had argued for the measure, calling it a "state's rights
issue."

A patient or a patient's care giver could possess no more than three
mature marijuana plants or 1 ounce of usable marijuana from a mature
plant

Cayetano has sponsored the legislation for two years and has said he
would approve a bill to permit the seriously ill to use marijuana.

"Hawaii joins a handful of forward-thinking states that recognize
the value and effectiveness of medical marijuana," Cayetano said.

His press secretary said Cayetano was "inclined to sign
it"

"We look forward to recognition on a federal level to provide relief
to those suffering," Cayetano added.

The bill had been opposed by Hawaii's law enforcement community and
many of the medical associations.

A recent public opinion poll showed that 77 percent of Hawaii
residents approved using marijuana to ease the suffering of terminally
ill patients.