MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA REQUIRES REGISTERING WITH POLICE

As a chronically ill patient well tended by one of the well-known HMOs, I am
offered options for pain control. It is understood I will probably never
recover, however symptoms may be contained by prescription medications in
combination with recommended holistic style medicine.

As part of my treatment, it has been found that usage of a small amount of
marijuana, (not THC, one of the 20 or so active ingredients in the plant)
helps reduce my reliance on highly narcotic and addictive substances such as
methadone, codeine, valium, and the like. I am grateful.

According to a European medical study -- not social marijuana advocates --
the narcotics I consume are up to 40,000 times as "addictive" as marijuana.
I use very little marijuana, yet it does a big job in controlling my
symptoms, compared to the narcotics. I am also released from the emotional
concerns of drug addiction.

Why do I have to register with the police, like a criminal, and reveal to
the state of Hawaii exactly where I keep my marijuana? Why do I have to pay
the state $25 each year to "register," as if I am some drug addict or sex
offender?

I live in fear of federal agents ransacking my home, arresting and charging
me with the so-called crime of following doctor's orders and enjoying, yes,
enjoying the benefits of this medicine. Will the government ever come to the
conclusion that it is OK for a medicine to make you feel good, rather than
ill?

Ben Skywalker

Kihei