cannabisnews.com: Green Harvest Debate Rages Green Harvest Debate Rages Posted by FoM on September 04, 2000 at 17:24:51 PT By Keith Kosaki, West Hawaii Today Source: West Hawaii Today It could be said that no issue stirs up emotion at County Council meetings more than "Green Harvest," the Big Island's marijuana eradication program. At the July 26 meeting, public testimony and discussion lasted more than six hours. Of the 42 Big Island residents who testified, 18 supported it and 24 were in opposition. Marijuana advocates contend the program is ineffective and creates additional problems, such as increased hard drug use and helicopter noise that disturbs the peace. One advocate has even brought an impeachment petition against the mayor and council members because he believes a County Charter-required review of the program hasn't been done. Big Island police staunchly defend the program as an effective way of reducing the amount of marijuana in the community, pointing to statistics such as Hawaii leading the nation in the number of plants eradicated. More than 200,000 cultivated marijuana plants were seized last year on the Big Island, according to police statistics. In the other three counties, nearly 170,000 plants were destroyed. Even the nine-member council is divided on the issue. The council approved a $265,000 grant from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in July but conditioned it on getting a public officials liability insurance policy. The policy would pay the legal costs of the council members if an impeachment petition is brought against them for accepting the funds.When Big Island police returned the grant Thursday, a new chapter was added to the "Green Harvest" saga. The money was returned after the county could not obtain an insurance policy to cover the council. "This is the first time anywhere in the nation that the money has been returned," said Lt. Henry Tavares, head of the Police Department's vice section. And to no one's surprise, those who support the eradication and those against it have different predictions on what could happen as a result of returning the funds."I think we're going have to wait and see what the impact is," said Kona Councilwoman Nancy Pisicchio. " That's all we can do at this point."Police are concerned rejecting the money sends a message that the Big Island is a safe place to grow marijuana. "High Times," a worldwide pro-marijuana magazine has covered the council's handling of the issue. It reported information from other state law enforcement agencies indicating growers from other islands already are considering moving their operations to the Big Island. "They want to find a place where they can grow marijuana with the least amount of chances of it getting eradicated," Tavares said.Returning the money also could have future negative impact on the county. The DEA may be reluctant to give funding to the Big Island, knowing it has returned the funds once before.Thomas Kelly, the DEA agent in charge of the Honolulu district, said if the same problems surface the next time the county applies for an eradication grant, it could be difficult to obtain."If that's the case, why even entertain it?" Kelly said. He said the DEA will attempt to spend the returned money in Hawaii, but that will be challenging with the federal fiscal year scheduled to end Sept. 30. The money may end up being returned to the general fund.However, others say it is a chance to look at the benefits and downfalls of the eradication program. The four council members who voted against accepting the money, Pisicchio and Curtis Tyler of Kona, Julie Jacobson of Ka'u and Vice Chairman Al Smith of Puna, said it is a chance to examine the effectiveness of the program. They said it's also a chance for police to focus on fighting "hard drugs," such as heroin, crack cocaine and crystal methamphetamine, also known as "ice.""What I've heard is that the public is very concerned about the proliferation of hard drugs," Tyler said. "I want to do all I can to encourage (police) to go after the drugs with the greatest impact on public health and safety."Eradication Crippled, But Will Continue:Tavares said eradication missions will continue, though not as frequent and will use older, more time-consuming techniques. He said he is concerned fewer missions and more growers will lead to a lucrative marijuana trade, similar to the late 1970s and early 1980s. Police also lamented the loss of the funds, because a portion paid for new safety equipment and training officers, as well as for drug prevention education in schools and community groups.He said police had used two helicopters, one as a spotter and one to drop officers into a patch. The DEA grant mainly was used to rent the helicopters to drop officers into growing areas.Police still will have access to one helicopter, which will be used as a spotter, but teams now will have to walk into the patch, a technique used in the '70s and '80s."Taking away our helicopters is almost like taking away our patrol officer's cars and expecting them to enforce laws," Tavares said. However, a frequent complaint from those who oppose the programs is that these helicopters fly too low, disturbing their tranquility.Smith, who previously has voted both for and against the program, has said the increasing number of noise complaints was one of the reasons he voted against the money this year. Jacobson also said she's concerned about the growing number of complaints about the helicopters from residents in her district.Tavares said helicopters used in the eradication are marked with the letters "HPD" on the bottom and are required to be visible from 500 feet away. Crime Increase Feared:Other concerns include the possible increase in marijuana-related crime and the possibility that more of it will make it onto the streets. One marijuana plant can bring in as much as $1,000. So if a grower successfully cultivates 50 plants a season, it could reap as much as $50,000. And since plants can be raised within 90 days, growers could net as much as $200,000 a year.The cash potential will motivate others to steal plants, which in turn may force growers to use booby traps and armed guards to protect their crops. "That's where the violence comes in," Tavares said. "Because a lot of guys just go out and rip the guys off."However, Jacobson said she believes armed confrontations are isolated and a "rare phenomenon.""I'm not saying it doesn't exist at all but (police) portray it as a widespread problem," she said. "The increase of violence due to hard drugs is way greater than a once in a blue moon booby trap."However, Tavares said marijuana-related complaints already are starting to rise. The federal grant was supposed to help pay for eradication mission starting Jan. 1. Without the money, police haven't been able to do eradication missions this year. Tavares said Thursday, the Vice Section received four calls - three were for marijuana being cultivating on other people's property, while the fourth was for distribution."We may not see results next week, but throughout the coming months, I'm certain we will see an increase in the amount of marijuana out there," he said. "The eradication program pretty much takes it from the source. It's far more difficult to catch it on the street."Roger Christie, the Pahoa marijuana advocate who is attempting to impeach the mayor and council members, said he believes decriminalization will do away with marijuana-relate crimes. He compares the current situation to the alcohol prohibition days of the 1930's."There's a relationship here to prohibition, we should have learned it," Christie said. "Nobody gets shot over beer profits anymore."Council members and others also speculate the increase in hard drug use could be attributed to less marijuana being available. Jacobson, Tyler and Pisicchio have encouraged the police to be more aggressive in fighting those hard drugs.However, Tavares said the "ice" problem in Guam contradicts that theory. He said Guam's major drug problem is "ice," and there is no formal eradication program there. Big Island police last month assisted in a special eradication operation in Guam. "That's disparaging the fact that the unavailability of marijuana leads to harder drugs," Tavares said. "Most alcoholics start off with beer. Some stay with beer, some go to harder liquor."Council Still May Face Impeachment:The council still faces an impeachment petition, despite not accepting the funds. Christie said he plans to file it in Circuit Court later this year.Last October, Christie attempted to impeach Mayor Stephen Yamashiro and six council members - Smith, Chairman James Arakaki, Aaron Chung, Bobby-Jean Leithead-Todd, Leningrad Elarionoff and Dominic Yagong -for not conducting a review of the eradication program.The petition was dismissed, but Arakaki said he could have spent tens of thousands of dollars to defend himself if it went to trial. Arakaki, who asked for the insurance provision, has said council members shouldn't be impeached for accepting money. He also has been unsuccessful in getting federal and state officials to indemnify the council members.Elected officials cannot be represented by county attorneys in they face impeachment. Smith said he simply can't afford the legal costs of a lengthy impeachment trial."That's my concern. I just don't have the money to fight an impeachment case," Smith said.While the end result of returning the funds remains unclear, police officials say they will continue to apply for eradication grants. Assistant Police Chief Wendell Paiva said he viewed it as a "temporary setback.""We're not going to give up applying for grants," Paiva said.Published: September 3, 2000Source: West Hawaii Today (HI)Copyright: 2000 West Hawaii TodayContact: wht aloha.netAddress: P.O. Box 789, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745-0789Fax: 808-329-4860Website: http://westhawaiitoday.com/Related Articles & Web Site:High Times Magazinehttp://www.hightimes.com/ Big Isle Rejects Anti-Marijuana Funds http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6914.shtmlCommittee Approves Eradication Fundshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6329.shtmlCannabisNews Articles On Hawaii:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=Hawaii Chasing Smoke: Hawaii's 24 Year War on Pot http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/specials/pot/index.html Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by drfist on September 06, 2000 at 10:42:06 PT no problem here If only people could experience Holland and Switzerland Like I just did, Hemp shops, and coffee shops are AVAILABLE IN all locations , 30 in Basel Switzerland alone, These countries are prosperous, pratically crime free and pot use is repored to be down another 10% by teens in Holland. We should be so lucky in the U.S. to have the calm ,reasoned,sensible policies of the most civilized of countries where pot can be purchased and consumed openly. Switzerland, Holland and Denmark. The product is not only good but cheap by U.S. standards. NO PROBLEM!!! WAKE UP AMERICADrFist writing from the Netherlands. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Roger Christie on September 05, 2000 at 22:11:57 PT: * Do try this at home * Hello Dear Reader, September 5, 2000Aloha from Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i. If you would like to know more about our effort here to push back the tide of cannabis prohibition just email me for more info. I am putting together a sort of 'template' for other activists to use in their home towns to get similar results.We took names and we kicked some ass. Finally! :-)All the best to you, RogerTHE HAWAI'I CANNABIS MINISTRY "Come Grow With Us" 808 961-0488 [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Roger Christie on September 05, 2000 at 22:11:25 PT: * Do try this at home * Hello Dear Reader,Aloha from Hilo on the Big Island of Hawai'i. If you would like to know more about our effort here to push back the tide of cannabis prohibition just email me for more info. I am putting together a sort of 'template' for other activists to use in their home towns to get similar results.We took names and we kicked some ass. Finally! :-)All the best to you, RogerTHE HAWAI'I CANNABIS MINISTRY "Come Grow With Us" 808 961-0488 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: