cannabisnews.com: Hawaii Lawmakers Approve Bill on Med. Use of MMJ Hawaii Lawmakers Approve Bill on Med. Use of MMJ Posted by FoM on April 26, 2000 at 11:55:58 PT By James Sterngold Source: New York Times In what marijuana advocates said was a first, Hawaii's Legislature passed a bill today permitting people with specific illnesses to use marijuana as a medical treatment, and the state's governor has said he will sign the legislation shortly. Currently, there are five states in which voters have passed initiatives permitting restricted medical use of marijuana to relieve the symptoms of illnesses like AIDS, cancer and glaucoma. But Hawaii is the first state in which the Legislature has passed such a bill and in which the governor has said he will sign it into law. Passage through the Legislature rather than the unpredictable ballot initiative process is regarded as a surer means of instituting a law and keeping it on the books. In fact, Hawaii's governor, Benjamin J. Cayetano, a Democrat, introduced the bill and has been a strong supporter of the limited use of marijuana, an issue that some polls have shown the state's 1.2 million residents support. The State House of Representatives passed the bill several weeks ago, and today the State Senate passed it 15 to 10. "Hawaii joins a handful of forward-thinking states that recognize the value and effectiveness of medical marijuana," Governor Cayetano said this afternoon. "We look forward to recognition on a federal level to provide relief to those suffering." Chuck Thomas, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, a private group that advocates medical use of the drug, said the organization hoped the law would be a catalyst for other state legislatures to act. Alaska, California, Maine, Oregon and Washington have passed ballot initiatives permitting some limited medical use of marijuana. "We believe this is the second wave," Mr. Thomas said. "Finally, we think the third wave will be the federal government." As in other states, the policy was hotly debated in Hawaii, but the divide did not follow party lines in the overwhelmingly Democratic state. Both Republican members of the Senate voted in favor of the bill, said Pamela Lichty, who fought for the bill and is president of the board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii. And the medical establishment was divided, with nurse organizations supporting the bill and important doctor groups opposing it. "There was opposition from law enforcement and some others but there was no grass-roots opposition, and that seems to have encouraged the Legislature," said Ms. Lichty, who is also the vice president of the Drug Policy Forum. The Honolulu Police Department fought the bill and won an agreement limiting users, who will be able to grow their own marijuana, to six plants. "There's already heavy recreational abuse of this drug, and we think this sends the wrong message," said Maj. Susan Dowsett, head of the narcotics division. She added that marijuana use was still prohibited under federal law and that the state law would technically not shield licensed users from federal prosecution. The bill is narrowly worded, Ms. Lichty said, and specifies both the illnesses that can be treated with marijuana and the conditions in which it can be used. She said it appeared that perhaps 300 people or fewer in Hawaii would qualify, although the figure was still uncertain. Medical marijuana would be used to relieve the symptoms of certain people with AIDS, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and people with glaucoma and epilepsy. Those qualifying would have to register with law enforcement officials. David Tarnas, a former state representative, first introduced a bill permitting limited use of marijuana in 1995. It was defeated, but Mr. Tarnas said that began a slow process of educating legislators. "The place wasn't ready for it back then," said Mr. Tarnas, who left the Legislature two years ago after serving two terms. "The Legislature needed a lot more education. There is now a high level of knowledge and awareness. There was a slow, deliberate process." He added, "It took a lot of work, but the time was right." Published: April 26, 2000Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/ Drug Policy Forum Of Hawaiihttp://www.drugsense.org/dpfhi/Hawaii Medical Marijuana Institute http://www.medijuana.com/Medical Marijuana Act Passes http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5515.shtmlHawaii Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5510.shtml Lawmakers Appear Near Accord on Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5467.shtmlMedical Marijuana Issue Comes of Agehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5458.shtmlHawaii Congresswoman Supports Medical Marijuana Researchhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread1880.shtmlCannabisNews Articles On The Marijuana Policy Project:http://google.com/search?lc=&num=10&q=cannabisnews+Marijuana+Policy+Project+site:cannabisnews.com Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by Carol on July 08, 2000 at 05:47:31 PT: Prescribe~able... But probable? Hi.. Just one more thing to say... My boyfriend Jim has MS and was prescribed Marinol... A synthetic form of THC...which for the record... SUX!! (Not only does it NOT contain the cannabinols needed to ease symptoms... it does NOTHING and at a price of $665.00 for a months supply... and no insurance covers it...) He could not find a doctor willing to prescribe it until he met a psych doctor at his monthly NORML meeting.... (YaY NORML!!) So I wonder... how many doctors will even be willing to prescribe Marijuanna now that they can?? If anyone out there has time to call around and ask doctors if they would consider prescribing Marijuanna... You may be surprised at what you hear..... p.s. Doesn't the fact that they are manufacturing synthetic THC PROVE that they already know it has medicinal value!? Hey Big Brother... If you wanna make money... invest in Industrial Hemp for the USA... 'K? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Carol on July 08, 2000 at 05:36:44 PT: RE: MS news article links FoM...Thanx for the links! Were great!I welcome the help for sure! Still got LoTs to learn... so always lookin for more! We are all Angels with just one wing and can only fly when we embrace another! Peace! BunniHugz > :)-~ [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 26, 2000 at 21:34:40 PT MS News Article Links! Hi BunniHugz,I thought you might looking at all the articles on Multiple Sclerosis. There are about 190 articles. You should find out a lot more with these links. Hope this helps and thank you!Peace, FoM!http://google.com/search?lc=&num=10&q=cannabisnews+MS+site:cannabisnews.com [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Carol on April 26, 2000 at 19:08:52 PT: Medical Marijuana... I was SO happy when I read this article! And I don't even USE marijuana!! But I think that Multiple Sclerosis should be added to the list of medical conditions that marijuana helps.... MS is a horribly painful and crippling disease.... Imagine going thru hours... sometimes days of leg spasms... which are even more painful than say.... the worst leg cramp.... imagine KNOWING marijuana is the best source of relief... and knowing you can't legally ease that pain cuz MS didn't make the list.... let that be the next mission... My boyfriend has MS and I watch him suffer all day and wake up some nights in sheer agony... his legs stiff as boards.... Anyway.... CONGRATS HAWAII!!!! Keep growin!!! Oh yea... 6 plants? ::laugh:: the minimium is more like 400 if it's to last ONE user an entire year!!! C'mon... what's up with that!? > :/ Peace.... BunniHugz [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Carol on April 26, 2000 at 19:05:12 PT: Medical Marijuana... I was SO happy when I read this article! And I don't even USE marijuana!! But I think that Multiple Sclerosis should be added to the list of medical conditions that marijuana helps.... MS is a horribly painful and crippling disease.... Imagine going thru hours... sometimes days of leg spasms... which are even more painful than say.... the worst leg cramp.... imagine KNOWING marijuana is the best source of relief... and knowing you can't legally ease that pain cuz MS didn't make the list.... let that be the next mission... My boyfriend has MS and I watch him suffer all day and wake up some nights in sheer agony... his legs stiff as boards.... Anyway.... CONGRATS HAWAII!!!! Keep growin!!! Peace.... BunniHugz [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Mari on April 26, 2000 at 14:56:10 PT Limits Why does the Govt. give it's handfull of Approved tokers 300 joints a month but don't want these people to have more than 6 plants?We always plant anything with the knowledge that 1/3 goes to the birds;1/3 will rot or not germinate;&1/3 will grow.Out of that 1/3 how many will be male?Also, I noticed that MS sufferers were not included!As usual it's only a half-a** solution but at least it's a start. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Jason King on April 26, 2000 at 12:46:07 PT: medical mj 6 plants is a pathetic amount of medicine with the short season growing conditions of Hawaii. This is ridiculous. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: