STAND. COM. REP. NO.  469-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   H.B. No. 2675

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2675 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to enable qualifying patients to continue their medication by authorizing the use of a written certification or its equivalent issued by another state government to permit the medical use of marijuana by a qualifying patient when traveling to Hawaii.

     The Drug Policy Forum and several concerned individuals supported this bill.  The Department of Public Safety, the Police Department of the City and County of Honolulu, the Police Department of the County of Maui, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the City and County of Honolulu, Department of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Maui, and Hawaii Medical Association opposed this measure.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by replacing its contents with provisions that:

(1)  Increases the number of plants a qualifying patient can possess from seven to 14;

(2)  Removes designations of mature and immature plants a qualifying patient is authorized to have;

(3)  Creates the Medical Marijuana Task Force (Task Force) to:

(A)  Study the feasibility of safe growing facilities on each of the Hawaiian islands; and

(B)  Seek possible solutions to challenges faced by qualified patients with written certification when faced with inter-island travel and the provisions of current statutory material, including federal law that prohibit travel with medical marijuana.

(4)  Requires that the Task Force report their findings to the Legislature prior to the 2009 Regular Session; and

(5)  Makes technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2675, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2675, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committees on Public Safety & Military Affairs and Judiciary.

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

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair