HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	251
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the federal agencies involved in classifying controlled substances to consider reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III substance.

     WHEREAS, by prohibiting seriously ill persons from using cannabis in states that have approved such use, the Controlled Substances Act, Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, interferes with the rights reserved to the states by the Ninth Amendment of the United States Constitution to enact and implement laws protecting the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens; and

     WHEREAS, since 1996, twelve states have enacted laws that authorize the use of medical marijuana only but that do not otherwise legalize the use of marijuana; and

     WHEREAS, much time has passed since 1970 when the Controlled Substances Act first classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug, including the emergence of the AIDS epidemic and the accumulation of solid scientific evidence that marijuana can relieve the suffering of those afflicted by certain types of illness, including glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, severe pain, and nausea induced by the drugs used in chemotherapy and in the treatment of AIDS; and

WHEREAS, Schedule I drugs include opiates and opium derivatives such as heroin and morphine and hallucinogenic substances such as lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the State's Uniform Controlled Substances Act, in making a determination regarding the classification of a substance, the Department of Public Safety is required to assess the degree of danger or probable danger of the substance by considering:

(1)  The actual or probable abuse of the substance;

(2)  The biomedical hazard of the substance;

(3)  A judgment of the probable physical and social impact of widespread abuse of the substance;

(4)  Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under the law; and

(5)  The current state of scientific knowledge regarding the substance; and

     WHEREAS, with regard to all five criteria listed, it is apparent that marijuana should not be classified as a Schedule I substance; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that the federal agencies involved in classifying controlled substances are urged to consider reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III substance; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, the United States Attorney General, the Commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, the Administrator of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, and the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Urge Federal Government to Reclassify Marijuana as Schedule III