ROD THOMPSON / RTHOMPSON @STARBULLETIN.COM
Jonathan Adler inspected his medical marijuana that was returned to him yesterday after police held it as evidence for 10 months.
HILO >> Just when it seemed that a marijuana conviction would knock Natural Law Party candidate Jonathan Adler out of the race for governor, Adler has found wording in state law that he says may keep him running. Adler hopes law’s wording
keeps him in gov’s race
By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.comAdler, 50, was convicted in June of felony commercial promotion of marijuana for possessing 89 marijuana plants in 1998. His sentencing is set for Aug. 26.
Once sentencing is completed, it was believed he would be barred from running.
But the law says a person convicted of a felony may not file to run for elective office, Adler says in a letter to state elections chief Dwayne Yoshina.
Adler filed to run on April Fool's Day, three months before he was convicted.
"No mention is made (in the law) regarding candidates who file before any subsequent court action resulting in conviction," Adler says in the Aug. 9 letter.
Yoshina said he submitted Adler's letter to the attorney general for review.
During a nonjury trial, Adler argued he had a religious right to possess the 89 plants. Judge Greg Nakamura ruled that he did not have a right to commercial quantities of the plants.
Adler says he plans an appeal and will ask Nakamura to hold off sentencing during the appeal. Adler faces comedian Kaui "Bu La'ia" Hill in the Natural Law Party primary, although the party has declared its unhappiness with both candidates.
Adler said yesterday if either is elected, the winner will appoint the other as a "deputy governor."
Meanwhile, a Hilo District Court clerk returned about an ounce of medical marijuana to Adler yesterday on a judge's order.
Police seized the marijuana in October from Adler's wife Nuansawat, who mistakenly brought it to the Hilo police station where Adler was being held for another matter.
Adler had wanted his wife to bring his legal synthetic marijuana Marinol pills, used for head pain from a car accident. Police who relayed the message told Nuansawat to bring Adler's "medication," which she thought meant his marijuana. She was eventually fined $25 for a misdemeanor possession charge.
