STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1692

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.C.R. No. 10

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 10 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE MAYOR AND THE COUNCIL OF MAUI COUNTY TO IMPLEMENT VARIOUS MEASURES REGARDING MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN THE COUNTY OF MAUI,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this Concurrent Resolution is to strongly urge the Mayor and the County Council of Maui to implement various measures regarding medical marijuana.

     Specifically, this measure urges the Mayor and the County Council of Maui to:

     (1)  Develop a Maui County Family Farmer Medical Marijuana Regulation and Revenue Program to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana for adult use;

     (2)  Under the program:

         (A)  License qualified family farmers in designated agricultural zones to produce marijuana and allow each licensed family farmer to produce marijuana for up to two hundred qualifying patients;

         (B)  Create an allotment system allowing agriculturally zoned family farmers on the island of Maui to supply the medical marijuana needs of Maui by requiring five-year organic farm plans based on at least two organic crops, the first of which shall be marijuana and the second of which shall be an organic vegetables crop; and

         (C)  Create a community oversight committee to oversee the implementation of the program;

     (3)  Direct the Maui County Police Department to make investigation, citation, and arrest for private adult medical marijuana offenses the lowest law enforcement priority; and

(4)  Advocate for legislative change to further legalize medical use of marijuana at the state and the federal levels.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, the Drug Policy Action Group, the NORML Foundation, and forty-five individuals, including users of medical marijuana.  The Department of Public Safety testified in opposition.  A member of the Maui County Council offered comments.

     Your Committee finds that despite a United States Supreme Court decision that effectively bans the possession and use of marijuana for any purposes, including medical use, the reality remains that many patients in the State, particularly on the island of Maui, rely on the use of marijuana to alleviate their pain and suffering that cannot be addressed in any other way.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 10 and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

JOHN MIZUNO, Acting Chair & Vice Chair