Isles weigh
marijuana ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld yesterday the power of Congress to prohibit and prosecute the possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes, even in the 10 states that permit it.

However, that does not necesarily mean those using medicinal marijuana in Hawaii are in danger of being arrested, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said. But Kubo said those distributing marijuana would be treated like any other drug dealer.

"All that means as far as Hawaii is concerned is if you distribute marijauana for any purpose," including for medical reasons, you will be subject to criminal liability," Kubo said.

"It does not mean there's going to be a crackdown. ... "We traditionally do not go after marijuana users unless there are special circumstances.

In general however, Kubo said the ruling means that medicinal marijuana is "dead" in Hawaii.

"This case was a death knoll," he said. "Why? Because as far as I'm concerned, physcians and caregivers can no longer rely on that excuse to distribute marijuana in Hawaii."

The state's role in facilitating any such prosecution remains unclear, however.

Big Island resident Jonathan Adler, who said he smokes marijuana for religious and medicinal purposes, asked, "Is that list (of registered medicinal marijuana users) going to be shared with the federal government? The state should stand up for its own rights."

Jeanne Ohta, executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, said: "It is still legal for patients under a physician's care to use marijuana to treat diseases like cancer, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and AIDS. That choice continues to exist here and in the nine other states with similar laws."

She accused Kubo of using scare tactics.

State Attorney General Mark Bennett said it was unclear what the state's role was in light of yesterday's decision. Since 2000 the Department of Public Safety has been responsible for certifying those with medicinal marijuana needs based upon doctors' recommendations.

State public safety officials said there were 2,596 certified medicinal marijuana users as of May.

"I suspect that this decision will not have a great impact on what we do as a state," Bennett said.

Jack Schweigert, a Honolulu attorney who in 2002 represented marijuana permit holders arrested by Big Island police during a pot crackdown in Hilo, called the ruling "expected" but "unfortunate."

Marijuana "really helps some people who are terribly sick to deal with their illness," Schweigert said. "It's their right."

The 6-3 decision overturned a 2003 ruling by a federal appeals court that had shielded California's Compassionate Use Act, the medical-marijuana initiative adopted by the state's voters nine years ago, from the reach of federal drug enforcement. The appeals court had held that Congress lacked constitutional authority to regulate the noncommercial cultivation and use of marijuana that does not cross state lines.

But "the regulation is squarely within Congress's commerce power," Justice John Paul Stevens said for the majority yesterday. He added that the court's precedents had clearly established "Congress's power to regulate purely local activities that are part of an economic 'class of activities' that have a substantial effect on interstate commerce."