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IN AND AROUND THE CAPITOL
Lawmakers appear
near accord on
medical marijuana
Law enforcement officials
Prosecutor faced personal crisis
stress that pot possession is
still a federal offense, and
the drug can't be prescribed
Tow operators back consumer protections By Helen Altonn
Star-BulletinHawaii legislators appear close to ending years of debate over medical use of marijuana.
The Senate may agree to House changes to a Senate bill that legalizes such use of marijuana rather than refer the bill to a conference committee, said Senate Judiciary Co-Chairman Matt Matsunaga (D, Waialae, Palolo).
"The key is if we can get 13 votes," he said.
The House tightened the bill for law-enforcement purposes, which may satisfy some questions, he said.
Gov. Ben Cayetano is such a strong supporter of use of marijuana for certain debilitating illnesses that he devoted a full page to the topic in his recent four-page report to communities.
A majority of Hawaii voters (77 percent) also favor allowing seriously or terminally ill patients to use marijuana, in a poll conducted by Honolulu-based QMark Research and Polling.
Among major opponents are law enforcement agencies, the Hawaii Medical Association and the Board of Medical Examiners.
The House Health Committee, which heard testimony on similar bills in previous years, waived it this time to the House Judiciary Committee.
House and Senate Judiciary committees asked people testifying to stick to legal aspects -- how it would work and interface with federal law, rather than whether marijuana should be legalized for medical use.
Law enforcement officials emphasize that possession of marijuana is a federal offense and marijuana is a federally scheduled drug that can't be prescribed.
Even if state law allows medical use of marijuana, "What the state ends up doing will not change federal law," U.S. Attorney Steve Alm said
"It would be up to federal authorities how they would like to proceed on these cases," said Maj. Susan Dowsett, commander of the Honolulu Police Department's Narcotics/Vice Division.
"We would no longer be able to take them to state court," she said.
The Hawaii Medical Association has argued that use of medical marijuana should be approved through the federal process governing prescriptive drugs, "based on evidence from scientific, controlled studies, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and distributed through pharmacies."
But states do not have to adhere to federal law regarding drugs, said Pamela Lichty, American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii board president. "It's a states'-rights issue."
California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Maine and the District of Columbia have passed laws or voter initiatives to permit medical use of marijuana. Since Oregon's law went into effect in December 1998, more than 750 registration cards have been issued to about 500 patients and caregivers and about 300 physicians are participating, said Kelly Paige, the state medical marijuana program manager.
No registered patients or caregivers have been convicted of a marijuana-related offense and no cards have been revoked, she said.
She cited some barriers to program participation but said, "On balance, the program is working better than either the proponents or the opponents anticipated."
One of the problems in Oregon, Paige said, is that some patients are unable to grow medical marijuana at their homes or find caregivers to grow it for them.
Hawaii's program would be similar to Oregon's under the legislation: Authorized patients or primary caregivers would have to grow their own marijuana.
But how would they get the seeds? "They would have to get them from another patient or the black market," said Lichty, who is also vice president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii. "There is no ready way to get them."
Distribution of marijuana would be limited to transfer of marijuana and paraphernalia from the primary caregiver to the qualifying patient.
"The big question is distribution," Lichty said. "A lot of states are wrestling with it.
"The first step is to remove the threat of arrest. The secondary issue is how actually to do it."
Medical conditions qualifying for marijuana use would include cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS and chronic conditions, such as seizures from epilepsy or muscle spasms characteristic of multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease.
A primary caregiver, 18 or older, would be responsible for managing the patient's medical use of marijuana.
The House version would allow the patient and caregiver to have an "adequate supply" of marijuana between them to treat a medical condition, not to exceed three mature marijuana plants, four immature plants and one ounce of usable marijuana per each mature plant.
The Senate draft had established an upper limit of 10.5 ounces for an "adequate supply," and no more than a 60-day supply.
A physician could not "prescribe" marijuana but would certify in writing that a patient had qualifying conditions to use it.
Physicians, patients and caregivers would have to register with the Department of Public Safety.
Patients wanted the registry in the Department of Health, as the Senate proposed. But the department said it should be in the Public Safety Department because that's the lead agency for scheduling of controlled substances and licensing of physicians prescribing controlled substances.
Law enforcement agencies would have "reasonable access" to the registry information for enforcement purposes.
The bill provides protections from state prosecution for qualifying patients, primary caregivers and physicians complying with the requirements. It also provides penalties for fraudulent misrepresentations and violations.
Medical use of marijuana wouldn't be permitted in any buses or moving vehicles, in a workplace, on school grounds, at any public park, beach or recreation center or other place open to the public.
Matsunaga, son of U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga, who died of cancer in 1990, said, "I think anybody who's had a close relative, father or mother who has died of cancer or other debilitating disease recognizes the need to show some compassion toward these people.
"Speaking for myself, I would have done almost anything to relieve my father's symptoms of nausea. He was feeling really sick, unable to eat ...
"This is just trying to open up another option. ... For people who fear it's going to lead to some kind of explosion in drug usage, I think there's a world of difference between a grandmother dying of cancer and a drug dealer."
Drug prosecutor
By Helen Altonn
faced personal crisis
Star-BulletinKeith Vines, former San Francisco narcotics prosecutor, said he found himself in a quandary when his doctor suggested he try marijuana for a life-threatening medical condition.
"I was a prosecutor, and I was also a dying patient," he said in an interview here.
Vines was diagnosed in 1993 with AIDS Wasting Syndrome. He lost about 50 pounds, he said. His physician told him there was no cure "and it was a matter of time ..." he said.
He said he started growth hormone treatment in a study evaluating Marinol for Food and Drug Administration approval, but he needed to eat three meals a day and he had no appetite.
The drug didn't work for him and his doctor suggested he consider using marijuana, he said. "She sat down with me and listed all the risks and benefits and alternatives ...
"I was sort of at the ledge. I was reaching out to my doctor and she was treating me as a patient, not an assistant district attorney.
"When you're facing death and your doctor says this may help you stay alive, looking at it from a patient perspective, you want to use any medicine if they alleviate your pain."
Vines has been with the San Francisco district attorney's office since 1985 and is now chief of the psychiatric unit. He prosecuted narcotics cases from 1989 to 1994.
In 1990, he was on a federally funded drug enforcement strike force and was responsible for the second largest drug bust in San Francisco's history.
He has been meeting with Hawaii legislators and officials to discuss pending legislation to legalize use of marijuana for debilitating medical conditions.
Although he was reluctant after his physician talked to him about it, he said he obtained some marijuana from a buyer's club in San Francisco and it worked.
He said it helped him regain his weight with the growth hormone. "It was pretty miraculous."
He's back up to 200 pounds and now needs only a small amount of marijuana for his appetite, he said.
He said he's on protease inhibitors and doing fine. "You wouldn't know from meeting me that I actually had AIDS" and was "wasting away, having to sit on pillows because my body was skin and bones" seven years ago, he said.
"I work with law enforcement and I respect them," he said, "but I think there is a big difference between someone using marijuana under the supervision of a treating physician for medicinal purposes and someone using marijuana for purposes of recreation."
He said he obtains marijuana from delivery services allowed to dispense marijuana under San Francisco's Proposition 215, which exempts people from state prosecution who meet certain criteria.
"The reality is, we don't see abuse. We don't see youth breaking down doors of these establishments trying to pretend they're seriously ill."
Vines feels the bill to legalize medicinal marijuana in Hawaii has appropriate safeguards.
"Initially, maybe law enforcement is a little uneasy about it. Once it's passed and you start seeing elderly people and people with cancer, a small subset of the population, getting it, law enforcement will back away."
Vines also disputes an argument that legalizing medicinal marijuana sends the wrong message about drug use.
He said he has a young son in college who told him, "Dad, if it helps you feel better and stay alive, go for it."
"I think the message is quite different than what the federal government says the message is," Vines said. "What message do we send from our federal government when we say, 'Let's arrest seriously ill patients?'"
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Legislature Bills & Hawaii Revised Statutes
Tow operators
By Rosemarie Bernardo
back consumer
protections
Star-BulletinTowing operators support a bill that requires identification and insurance coverage for commercial tow trucks and clarifies unhooking fees.
Senate Bill 2725 House Draft 2 requires tow trucks to put a sign on each door with the name and telephone number of the tow business, which will make it easier to identify and "deter auto theft with a tow truck," said Barnaby Robinson, owner of Waialae and Nimitz Chevron, which provide towing services.
Having adequate insurance coverage will protect the vehicle being towed, said Robinson. "Automobiles are the second most valuable asset next to their house," he said.
Towing companies should "accept responsibility for what's on their back," said Devin Statts, owner of Affordable Towing and Recovery Services Inc.
But some towing operators said they are disappointed about Rep. Cynthia Thielen's comments on companies profiting from towing vehicles.
"We're not vicious," said Jan Wakayama, manager of Ace Towing Service and president of Hawaii State Towing Association. "We're not trying to rip off anybody," he said.
The House Consumer Protection Committee recently passed the bill clarifying the unhooking fee laws. The measure is headed for a House-Senate conference committee.
Under current law, it states "If the vehicle is in the process of being hooked up to the tow truck and the owner appears on the scene before the vehicle has been moved by the tow truck, the towing company shall be entitled to an unhooking fee of not more than $50."
People looked at the "entitled to" part differently, Wakayama said.
In the bill, the phrase is deleted and reads, "the towing company shall unhook the vehicle upon payment by the owner of an unhooking fee of not more than $50. If the owner is unwilling or unable to pay the unhooking fee, the vehicle may be towed."
"It's more straightforward," said Wakayama. The towing association felt it was necessary to amend the statutes for clarification, he said.
Robinson said tow companies protect innocent motorists from those illegally parked in someone else's parking stall in private lots and in towaway zones. "It's very much a pro-consumer activity," he said.
"They're (towing companies) entitled to just compensation for work performed," said Robinson.
Thielen (R, Kailua) supports the unhooking fees but would like tow companies to accept credit cards as another means of payment.
"People don't walk around with $50 in their pocket," said Thielen.
If we are a consumer protection committee, we should mandate tow trucks to accept credit cards in payment, she said.
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