SB879.DOC

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	879
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to marijuana.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that certain state policies should be revised in response to our current economic climate. One of these policies relates to criminal offenses that prohibit the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana. The legislature further finds that nineteen states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana. Of these states, six — Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon — have made possession of marijuana a low-level misdemeanor, with no possibility of jail for qualifying offenses. Most recently, in 2014, Maryland approved decriminalization of marijuana, making possession of less than ten grams of marijuana a civil offense subject to a fine. The District of Columbia also passed legislation last year to make possession or transfer without remuneration of one ounce or less of marijuana a civil violation subject to a fine. The legislature finds that in Hawai‘i, as in these other areas, the benefits of establishing a civil violation for the possession of small amounts of marijuana far outweigh the benefits of the current criminal treatment of this offense.

The legislature further finds that the costs to enforce criminal marijuana possession statutes are substantial. According to a report entitled Update to: Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization for Hawai‘i, dated January 2013, by David C. Nixon, an associate professor at the University of Hawai‘i public policy center, Hawai‘i's enforcement of marijuana laws is relatively muted. However, since 2004, marijuana possession arrests have increased almost 50 per cent and distribution arrests have almost doubled. The report also notes that there has been a statistically significant increase between 2002/2003 and 2008/2009 in the percentage of Hawai‘i's population who reported having consumed marijuana within the last thirty days. The report suggests that although it is clear that enforcement of marijuana laws has become marginally more strict and reported use of marijuana has increased in tandem, it is possible to argue that marijuana enforcement has no impact or perhaps even a counterproductive impact on marijuana consumption. Furthermore, the report notes that the enforcement costs for misdemeanor marijuana costs have skyrocketed in the State. The cost of arrest in Hawai‘i for simple marijuana possession is now approximately $9,300,000 a year, with marijuana distribution enforcement costing the State an additional $3,100,000 a year.

The legislature additionally finds that evidence evaluated in a report prepared in 2008 by Jeffrey A. Miron, an economics professor at Harvard University, "provides no indication that decriminalization [of marijuana] leads to a measurable increase in marijuana use." Another report in 2014, from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, analyzed five states that implemented major marijuana reforms over the last five years. The 2014 report found that all five states experienced substantial declines in marijuana possession arrests. The four states with available data also showed unexpected drops in marijuana felony arrests. Furthermore, states that decriminalized marijuana for all ages experienced the largest decreases in marijuana arrests or cases, led by drops among young people and for low-level possession.

Finally, it is clear to the legislature that the cost of enforcing laws criminalizing the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana greatly outweighs the benefits of doing so. By making possession of one ounce or less of marijuana a civil violation, the legislature does not intend to imply that such possession is acceptable. The legislature notes that possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is still prohibited conduct under this Act; it will simply be handled in a manner commensurate with the offense.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a civil violation subject to a fine of $100 for intentional or knowing possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.

SECTION 2. Chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§329‑ Possession of marijuana. (a) Intentional or knowing possession of one ounce or less of marijuana shall constitute a civil violation subject to a fine of $100.

(b) Civil fines and penalties for violations under this section shall be deposited by the director of finance to the credit of the state general fund."

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________