MEDICAL MARIJUANA RECOMMENDATIONS

Hawai'i should focus on workable rules for compassion
centers.

It is no coincidence that law enforcement is mounting a propaganda
campaign to convince Hawai'i legislators and the public that opening
medical marijuana dispensaries is a bad idea. This is the first year
amendments to Hawai'i's 10-year-old medical marijuana law have
progressed in the legislature.

Opening dispensaries to provide registered patients with safe and
legal access to marijuana was the No. 1 recommendation of the Medical
Cannabis Working Group. Our law permits qualifying patients to use
this medical herb without providing a legal supply-thus forcing
patients to go to the black market to obtain their medicine.

No one is proposing using Southern California as a model for
dispensaries. Rather, Hawai'i has the opportunity to design a program
from scratch using the best models available to serve patients' needs
and potentially provide revenue to the state and counties from tightly
regulated sales.

We are disappointed that California, at a time of severe budget
shortfalls, flew in three officers from Los Angeles to Maui and O'ahu
for a one-sided "update" which excluded all proponents. Instead of
listening to scare stories about the problems in L.A. stemming from
lack of regulation, Hawai'i law enforcement officials should be
working with us on drafting fair and workable rules for the proposed
compassion centers.