STATES ARE NOT LIMITED BY FEDERAL LAW WHEN IT COMES TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Kudos for an informative article on medical cannibus (The Maui News,
Feb. 8). I especially appreciated the information regarding the large
increase in patient numbers. Unfortunately there seems a lack of
intellectual factual honesty in that story and "Today's Editorial,"
Feb. 10.

Simply put, House Bill 1191 implements the recomendations of a 2004
study ordered by the Legislature to identify solutions to the access
problems already evident after four years. This is not my opinion, but
the conclusions of an authorized study.

The medical efficacy of cannabis, although recognized by our
Legislature in 2000, was affirmed by the American College of
Physicians, one of the largest medical groups in the country, in their
2008 report supporting medical cannibis use and research.

In 2005 there was an estimated $750 million in Hawaii cannabis sales,
according to NORML, a national marijuana advocacy group. The economic
benefits of taxing and directing some of that millions in sales to
legitimate family farmers are enumerated in a new University of Hawaii
study, "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Decriminalization and
Legalization for Hawaii." All of this without any money exchanged for
the medicine itself. HB1191 closely mirrors the recently enacted New
Mexico distribution system.

Conversely, stated concerns so far are based on unfounded,
insupportable and incorrect statements. Both The Maui News and Maui
Police Chief Tom Phillips are wrong to say that federal law trumps
state law. That is simply not the case.

Under the U.S. Constitution there is "dual sovereignty." States make
and enforce their own laws and the feds do the same. Neither is bound
by the other. Our own attorney general and the California attorney
general said as much in 2005 with one-page opinions in reaction to a
Supreme Court decision. This basic tenet is borne out by our 2007 law
allowing patients to purchase cheaper prescriptions from overseas,
which is also against federal law. Where are the police and The Maui
News on this?

Finally, the most egregious statement, besides the standard,
discredited arguments about marijuana being a gateway drug and
addictive nature, is the Phillips quote at the end of the Feb. 8
article: "We have had murders, assault, every other crime that goes
along with marijuana." Instead of trying to scare folk without
supporting evidence, the sentence would be accurate if you added one
word so it read: "We have had murders, assaults, every other crime
that goes along with marijuana prohibition.

Therein lies the crux of the problem. As President Obama has promised
to allow states to determine their own medical cannabis policies,
let's work together to create a sensitive, rational, medical approach
to all drugs based on facts. I encourage all to come to the table to
better serve both patients and the community.

Joe Bertram III is the state representative for District 11, South
Maui.