STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1669

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  S.C.R. No. 183
                                        S.D. 1




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

Sir:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which
was referred S.C.R. No. 183 entitled:

     "SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES
     CONGRESS TO PASS LEGISLATION ALLOWING INDIVIDUAL STATES TO
     DETERMINE THEIR OWN POLICIES WITH REGARD TO MEDICINAL
     CANNABIS (AKA MARIJUANA),"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this resolution, as received by your
Committees, is to request that the United States Congress pass
legislation allowing individual states to determine their own
policies regarding medical marijuana.

     Your Committees find that many patients and many medical
entities, in Hawaii and elsewhere, have found that marijuana is
an effective treatment for the debilitating pain caused by
certain illnesses.  Your Committee further finds, however, that
doctors are presently unable to prescribe marijuana for
chronically ill patients because marijuana is a Schedule I
federally controlled substance.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the
Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, the American Civil Liberties Union
of Hawaii, the Life Foundation, the Libertarian Party, Cannabis
for Health, and eight individuals.  Testimony in opposition to
this measure was submitted by the Hawaii Medical Association and
the Honolulu Police Department.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1669
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     Upon further consideration, your Committees have amended
this measure by:

     (1)  Requesting that the United States Congress and the
          federal Drug Enforcement Agency consider rescheduling
          cannabis, instead of requesting legislation allowing
          each state to set its own laws; and

     (2)  Deleting references to two organizations.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that is attached to
this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose
of S.C.R. No. 183, as amended herein, and recommend its adoption
in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 183, S.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Judiciary and
                                   Ways and Means,



______________________________     _____________________________
CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair           AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



______________________________     _____________________________
ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair             MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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