STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1242-08

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2008

RE:   H.R. No. 49

      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.R. No. 49 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this resolution is to eliminate the problems faced by legal medical marijuana cardholders of Maui County and to meet their medical needs by requesting the Maui County Mayor and County Council to implement various measures regarding medical marijuana in the County of Maui.

     The Drug Policy Forum, Drug Policy Action Group, and several concerned individuals support this resolution. The Department of Public Safety and the Police Department of Maui County opposed this resolution.

     Your Committee has amended this resolution by

     (1)  Requesting the Community Oversight Committee to:

          (a)  Identify procedures to obtain licenses;

          (b)  Focus on growing standards;

          (c)  Develop a legal distribution system; 

     (2)  Adding to the community oversight committee:

          (a)  The Director of the Office of Public Safety or                 designee;

          (b)  The Director of the Department of Health or                         designee;

          (c)  The Director of the Department of Agriculture or                    designee;

     Your Committee recognizes that there were two thousand eight hundred petitioners from Maui in favor of this resolution. Your Committee would also like to recognize that there exists an initiative called the Maui County Family Farmer Regulation and Revenue Ordinance which mirrors the contents of this house resolution. 

     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.R. No. 49, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Judiciary in the form attached hereto as H.R. No. 49, H.D. 1.

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

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair