STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1574

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 32
                                        H.D. 2
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
32, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGRICULTURE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill, as received by your Committee, is
to allow privately-funded industrial hemp research to be
conducted in Hawaii pursuant to appropriate law enforcement
authorizations and controls.

     Your Committee finds that industrial hemp is a non-
intoxicating strain of Cannabis that is grown in over thirty
countries and used to produce a wide variety of products,
including building materials, clothing fabrics, and personal care
products.  As to possible confusion with the intoxicating form of
Cannabis, your Committee notes that industrial hemp is
distinguishable both in its chemical composition and its physical
manifestation.

     Your Committee further finds that privately-funded
investigation and research into the feasibility of producing
industrial hemp in Hawaii should only be accomplished with the
appropriate authorizations from and within the controls of the
federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the state Department
of Public Safety.  Your Committee intends that these
authorizations and controls be strictly enforced, and thus

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1574
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supports monitoring by the appropriate county law enforcement
agency in addition to the necessary federal and state efforts.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Board of Agriculture, the Department of Business, Economic
Development, and Tourism, the ILWU Local 142, HEMPTECH, Miller
Consulting Group, The Larch Company, Island Hemp Wear, and four
private citizens.  Comments regarding this measure were submitted
by the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource
Management of the University of Hawaii at Hilo.  Testimony in
opposition was submitted by the Hawaii Island Economic
Development Board, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the
County of Hawaii, the Honolulu Police Department, and the Hawaii
County Police Department.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
measure by:

     (1)  Changing the definition of "industrial hemp" to mean
          marijuana with .3 percent or less of
          tetrahydrocannibinols, including mature stalks, by-
          products, and seeds not capable of germination;

     (2)  Including county law enforcement agencies for the
          purposes of monitoring the research project;

     (3)  Requiring any research project to submit their project
          proposal and quarterly reports to the appropriate
          county law enforcement agency; and

     (4)  Requiring any research project to submit annual reports
          to the legislature.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
32, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it
pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 32,
H.D. 2, S.D. 2.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1574
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                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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