cannabisnews.com: Hawaii Decriminalizes Marijuana for Medical Use 





Hawaii Decriminalizes Marijuana for Medical Use 
Posted by FoM on June 14, 2000 at 18:49:22 PT
By Ben DiPietro, Associated Press Writer
Source: SF Gate
Hawaii on Wednesday became the first state to use legislation to approve the possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes. While signing the bill into law, Gov. Ben Cayetano said it was one aspect of his effort to make Hawaii the health-care center of the Pacific. 
``I'm glad to see this bill before me,'' he said. ``My own feeling is more states are going to come on.'' Hawaii is the eighth state to decriminalize the use of medical marijuana, but the previous seven states did so through ballot measures. Under Hawaii's law, patients with certain qualifying illnesses must obtain a doctor's recommendation to use medical marijuana and must register with the state Department of Public Safety to avoid criminal prosecution under state law. The department first must formulate and implement rules to govern the registration process, a process that Donald Topping of the advocacy group Drug Policy Forum estimated could take up to two months. ``It will allow patients who have been using marijuana to do so without fear or prosecution,'' Topping said. ``There are a number of people who would like to use it but have hesitated because of the illegality of it.'' There are between 500 and 1,000 people in Hawaii who will be eligible to use medical marijuana, although the exact number is hard to discern because some people keep quiet about their use, Topping said. Topping and others agreed with Cayetano's prediction that the Hawaii law will lead to similar legislation in other states. ``This may set an example for other states, give them the courage to proceed,'' Topping said. ``I think the fear of being soft on drugs is beginning to fade now with this kind of legislation being passed. ``I see other states following suit in the near future.'' People who are stopped by police and found to be possessing marijuana will have to prove they are exempt from the state's criminal laws governing marijuana. Those laws remain in effect for all citizens not registered with the department. Scott Foster, whose wife, Lynn, died five years ago from bone cancer, said she would be happy to see this law finally approved. ``It was a horrible experience to have my wife die of cancer, smoking marijuana and seeing her relieved from it, and knowing if I went out in the car and got stopped, I, her caregiver, might not come home that night,'' Foster said. ``She'd be thrilled. She'd be laughing.'' The Rev. Dennis Shields of the Religion of Jesus Church, which uses marijuana as a sacrament, said his effort to win passage of a medical marijuana law resulted from the death of his 7-year-old son, Ryan, from cancer in 1991. ``I think he would be happy,'' said Shields, a Big Island resident. ``For him right now, going through his struggle, he would have the opportunity not to feel the guilt some people put on him. ``When you're throwing up uncontrollably, with 100 stitches in your gut that are fresh, you don't care about getting high, you care about stopping throwing up.'' The national Marijuana Policy Project is planning a meeting in Hawaii to bring together the people from the eight states that have medical marijuana laws, Topping said. The group is working to get medical marijuana bills introduced in 40 other states and is pushing current legislation in Maryland. ``The second wave of the campaign to protect medical marijuana users is underway,'' said Chuck Thomas, spokesman for the Washington-based project. ``The first wave was the passage of state ballot initiatives. The second is state legislation and the third will be federal legislation.'' The meeting, tentatively set for September, will focus on ways to establish a more efficient distribution system so patients don't have to go on the street to buy marijuana. ``Each state has its own system and none of them are perfect,'' Topping said. Voters in Alaska, Washington, California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Maine and the District of Columbia have approved medical marijuana laws. The Justice Department is challenging those laws. On the Net: Hawaii Legislature: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/Marijuana Policy Project: http://www.mpp.org/Drug Policy Forum: http://www.drugsense.org/dpfhi/ (06-14) 17:07 PDT Honolulu (AP) Published: June 14, 2000©2000 Associated Press  Related Articles:Hawaii Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6060.shtmlHawaii Lawmakers Approve Bill on Med. Use of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5518.shtmlHawaii Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread5510.shtml CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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