DESPITE STATE LAW, BIG ISLE MEDICAL POT PATIENTS FACING COURT AFTER
TRYING TO FLY TO OAHU

HILO -- Big Island medical marijuana patients trying to take their
pakalolo on interisland flights are increasingly finding themselves in
court, despite a state law protecting them from prosecution.

Donna Goldsworthy, a nurse and well-known Red Cross volunteer, was one
of two medical marijuana patients appearing Thursday in District Court
in Hilo, responding to warrants stemming from marijuana possession at
Hilo International Airport. Both Goldsworthy and the other defendant,
Alan R. Lee, are fighting second-degree misdemeanor charges of
promoting a dangerous drug.

Another defendant who was arrested at Kona International Airport is
scheduled for court in Kona on Dec. 7.

Belinda Hill, the public defender representing Goldsworthy and Lee,
filed motions to dismiss the charges, although both defendants signed
stipulations admitting they were in possession of marijuana. Deputy
Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Son stipulated the two had valid medical
marijuana certificates, known as "blue cards," when they were charged
and their marijuana confiscated.

District Judge Barbara Takase said she'd take the motions under
advisement and issue written findings at a Dec. 15 hearing.

The Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency that
screens passengers at airports, doesn't arrest passengers on drug
charges, a spokesman said Friday. Instead, the agency turns the
passengers over to local law enforcement.

"Our mission is to keep explosives off planes," TSA spokesman Nico
Melendez told West Hawaii Today. "Drug enforcement is not in our mission."

A half-dozen members of marijuana advocacy group Friends for Justice
sat though the hearings in a show of support.

"We're here for moral support and because evil doesn't function well
under the light," said the Rev. Nancy Harris, of Sacred Truth Mission.

The group has also planned a "Light Up the Vote" candidate forum and
rally at 2 p.m. today at the Hilo Mooheau Park Bandstand.

Advocate Matt Rifkin, a member of the Medical Cannabis Working Group
set up by the state Legislature, said medical marijuana patients often
report problems when they attempt to board planes for interisland
travel. Many testified during legislative hearings on medical
marijuana bills over the past four years.

He said at least 5,000 of the approximately 8,000 registered medical
marijuana users in the state live on the Big Island. They often need
to travel to Honolulu for medical care, he said.

"I think this happens a fair bit, but people just pay the fine and be
done with it," Rifkin said.

Last year, more than 400 people were arrested for possession of less
than an ounce of marijuana, he said, although it's not known how many
of them had blue cards. Bench warrants are issued for simple
possession, and defendants can avoid the charge by paying a $50 fine
and $350 in court fees, he said.

Goldsworthy, who was in a wheelchair with a broken leg, was detained
at the Hilo airport Dec. 12, 2008, after a pat-down search found 10.2
grams of marijuana in a plastic bag in her waistband, according to the
stipulation. Lee was carrying 2.97 ounces in his checked-in luggage
when he was stopped Nov. 6.

State law allows registered medical-marijuana patients to possess up
to three ounces of marijuana. The patients aren't allowed to use the
pakalolo in a public setting but "transportation of marijuana for
medical use is specifically protected," according to a manual put out
by the state Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division.

Medical marijuana confiscated by the Hawaii County Police Department
is to be returned "immediately upon the determination by a court that
the qualifying patient or primary caregiver is entitled to the
protection offered by the Medical use of Marijuana Law," although HPD
will not be responsible for the care and maintenance of seized live
marijuana plants, according to HPD's Rules and Regulations Governing
Investigations Involving the Medical and Religious Use of Marijuana.

Another defendant in court the same day, Robin Brian Young, was
arrested Nov. 6 at Mooheau Park near the bus station in Hilo. Young's
trial was postponed until Feb. 25 because Young, apparently suffering
from stroke-like symptoms of slurred speech, poor motor control and
confusion, stated he didn't understand the proceedings.

"What part of it didn't you understand?" asked Takase. "Were you
listening?"

"I'm not feeling well," Young said. "I don't understand what's going
on ... I'm a little confused today ... I have my license and I have
three ounces."