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Big Isle OKs grant
to eradicate pot

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By Rod Thompson
Star-Bulletin

HILO -- The Hawaii County Council has voted to accept a $120,250 federal marijuana eradication grant, a reversal of last year's decision to return $265,000.

Yesterday's decision to take the money passed the Council Finance Committee 6-2. Member Julie Jacobson also was also opposed, but left before the vote after committee chairman Aaron Chung cut short her comments on hard drugs and treatment programs.

Since the committee consists of the same members as the full Council, final approval is likely.

The Council accepted a grant last year but later sent the money back after Council members were unable to buy insurance to pay their legal fees in case of impeachment by marijuana activists.

Activist Roger Christie and others had filed an impeachment action in court arguing that pro-eradication Council members and the mayor displayed malfeasance by failing to conduct an allegedly required review of the program.

A Circuit Court judge dismissed the impeachment, but left open the possibility that it could be resubmitted. Christie said he may do that in the light of yesterday's vote.

Council members didn't discuss possible impeachment yesterday.

Almost all of the $120,250 federal grant will be used to pay for helicopter expenses for flying police to marijuana patches on private land. Once there, police cut down the plants by hand.

The police program is separate from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources program of using helicopters to spray poison on plants on state land.

Since federal money for police eradication ran out last summer, a kind of experiment existed for 7 months to see what happens with decreased enforcement.

Vice Lt. Henry Tavares said there was a "definite increase" in marijuana plots and plants.

Intermediate and high schools in east Hawaii reported 11 incidents in which marijuana was recovered in September, 1999 when eradication was in effect, he said. That jumped to 24 incidents in September, 2000 when there was no eradication.

Before the first eradication in 1978, marijuana-related violence was common. In recent years there has been no violence, but last year a man told Fire Department paramedics he was shot in the leg while stealing plants, Tavares said. The man refused to give police details.

That happened in April while eradication was still taking place.

Numerous people testified against accepting the money. No one from the public spoke for it.

Mayor Harry Kim said outside the meeting that he supports eradication but has asked police to respect people's right to peace and privacy in the way police fly their missions.

Tavares said police agreed to focus on farms and ranches and to restrict flights over rural homes.