Hawaii May Expand Medical Program

[designer]

Cops should be charged with a crime for campaigning for any political cause in uniform.

For instance, a school or other public office is not allowed by law to campaign or endorse anything political on the property. The uniform is Public Property and cops using that are violating the law.

 

[vta]

Cops should be charged with a crime for campaigning for any political cause in uniform.

For instance, a school or other public office is not allowed by law to campaign or endorse anything political on the property. The uniform is Public Property and cops using that are violating the law.

it is very disturbing to say the least.


SINCE WHEN IS LOBBYING PART OF POLICE JOB DUTIES?
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)

Hmmm, police officers engaging in politicking for laws that they are charged with enforcing - interesting.

On Kauai, the police department and prosecutor's office yesterday joined with the Kauai County Anti-Drug Program in a public rally against efforts to liberalize the state's marijuana laws. On Monday, uniformed police on Maui distributed leaflets at Walmart arguing against medical marijuana and efforts to decriminalize or legalize the drug. Maui Police Chief Gary Yabuta explained that he thinks such legislation sends "the wrong message to the youth."

Such statements can be debated, but should the rank-and-file paid by the public to enforce laws objectively be the ones involved in the debate - and in their official capacity, on the clock?

Testifying before legislative committees as to the effect such laws might have on police operations seems reasonable, especially by the higher-ups, but is lobbyist/advocate part of the oath to protect and serve?

 

[<~Hades~>]

Uping plant count would be nice, but fuck the dispencerys ......May they all be burned down and may tweekers robb them each and everyday!!!

We dont need asshats from cali or where ever coming and stealing the weed game from locals who have held it down for the past 20 years when it was not cool to grow dope,,,,,Soccer moms should stick to watching there fat kids play soccer, then trying to grow and flood the market with shitty weed !!!

if you cant find herb in hawaii .....You never adapted and should go back home !!!

We have a saying , its nice for you to visit , just dont forget to go home

 

[designer]

A cop campaigning for a political cause in uniform has an unfair advantage and is therefore unconstitutional. Voters could feel stigmatized voting against the police or campaigning freely with opposing policies. The office of the police cannot be used as a de facto lobby endorsing a particular cause. If I were in Hawaii I would most certainly be filing suit. Any other public office that attempts to stage a political endorsement would face the same.

 

[oldhaole]

Random thoughts...

Random thoughts...

First off reprocity for us would be the holy grail. But right now we can not even take our medicine island to island.

Dispenseries? We have what? 15,000 cards out there, most on the BI
Since most people get there card so they can legaly grow, a big legal customer base does not exist here.

So tiny legal market and huge black market with a large portion of the crop bottled up in state....Dispensaries are just a way for the state to get in the money game. Until we can export...theres no reason to give the state a cut.

And if we ever get to the point where export becomes possible, we have nothing to fear from the mainland. If anything, they should fear us.

 

[CANNATOPIA]

Always nice to hear some good news. TY for the post VTA.

 

[vta]

Source: Garden Island (Lihue, HI)
Author: Jessica Musicar


ACLU THREAT CAUSES COUNTY TO PULL OUT OF RALLY

LIHU'E -- A day after the County of Kaua'i pulled out of an anti-drug rally it had planned to host, County Attorney Al Castillo said the county is no longer in danger of legal action from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU on Wednesday wrote to the county to raise "serious legal concerns" about using public funds to host a partisan event.

"We have duly noted the concerns of the ACLU and will certainly consider them in light of future action on these bills and others," Castillo said via an e-mail from county spokeswoman Beth Tokioka.

Tokioka added in a separate e-mail that because the county resolved the issue, Castillo no longer anticipates any further action from the ACLU.

"I don't think we're planning to reschedule it from the county side," she said.

The Kaua'i Police Department, County of Kaua'i Anti-Drug Program, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, and local community organizations had first advertised they would sponsor the event.

The demonstration was intended to raise awareness and inform the community of dangers associated with pending marijuana legislation, according to a county press release.

County councilman Mel Rapozo, acting as a private citizen, reinstated the rally following the county's cancellation Thursday morning. It was held that afternoon in front of the Historic County Building.

ACLU's Complaint

In a letter sent to Castillo and KPD Chief Darryl Perry, the ACLU urged the county to cancel or postpone the rally because it believed county employees were "acting outside the scope of their limited, delegated authority, thus exposing the county to litigation," and faced liability under the First Amendment. The complaint was accompanied by a 16-page-description of an ACLU lawsuit against City and County of Honolulu prosecuting attorney Peter Carlisle regarding a similar matter.

"The issue with the upcoming rally is not about the individual police officers, prosecuting attorneys and other county employees expressing their viewpoints," the letter states. "It is about the potential use of public resources ( including time and labor of county employees ) to do so."

The ACLU letter alleges that neither the police department nor the prosecutor have the authority under the county's charter to use public funds to advocate for a particular political position; and that using public resources to fund the rally could expose the county to liability under the First Amendment.

Castillo said the county hasn't run into this problem before.

"County officials involved have previously spoken publicly against these measures and these concerns were never raised," Castillo said.

Much Ado About Press Releases

The trouble began after the ACLU learned of the county's first press release regarding its plans to hold the rally.

It includes a quote from County Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, who stated that if the proposed marijuana bills passed, they would result in increased violent crime, economic crisis, and a higher rate of marijuana usage among children. It also stated that police chiefs and prosecuting attorneys from the four counties stand united against this "dangerous legislation."

"It cannot be disputed that the overriding purpose of the rally is to persuade constituents to lobby legislators to vote against the pending bills, HB 1169 and SB 58," the ACLU wrote in its complaint letter.

Citing Stanson v. Mott in the California Supreme Court, the ACLU argued that the expenditures for such matters would raise potentially serious constitutional questions.

"The Stanson court, after reviewing the relevant jurisprudence in other jurisdictions, explicitly limited the department's campaign activities to neutral informational messages stating ... 'A fundamental precept of this nation's democratic electoral process is that the government may not 'take sides' in election contests or bestow an unfair advantage on one of several competing factions,'" the complaint letter stated.

Cancellation Tug-Of-War

Hours before the rally began, the county sent a press release stating it was canceling the rally due to a flash flood warning. Then the county issued a second release stating that the ACLU complaint was also a cause for the sudden cancellation.

Rapozo said the county couldn't stop the event, which he had originally scheduled.

"To use the weather as an excuse is unacceptable," Rapozo said Thursday. "The reason for the cancellation wasn't the weather. It was the ACLU's concerns."

Attempts to contact ACLU were unsuccessful.

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

Nice, I was wondering about uniformed (payed) officers handing out propaganda being legal.

 

[vta]

The anti-medical marijuana flyer being distributed at Wal-Mart by on duty Maui police

By CannaBob

This letter to the editor was published in the The Maui News. If I was a tax paying citizen of Maui, I would be greatly disturbed that the Police Department was stationing an armed officer at Walmart to hand out anti marijuana pamphlets instead of being available for real police business.


I saw a Maui police officer at Walmart handing out pamphlets and asking people to speak out against certain medical marijuana bills currently under consideration.

This Maui County employee, using a Maui Police Department cruiser, wearing a gun under color of authority, was handing out pamphlets funded by federal block grants and nonprofits. They included a message from Chief Gary Yabuta claiming that marijuana is not medicine despite state law and medical reports recognizing that marijuana is a legitimate medicine.

Are Maui police officers allowed to use county or federal funds to spread misinformation to their financial advantage? Do we want to allow our Police Department to intimidate us into creating a police state?

If you have ever complained to a police officer about a law, you almost certainly heard the cliche that the police do not make the laws, they only enforce them. What do we do now that they are trying to influence bills that protect and serve only the police?

What is the real story here? Is it all about MPD trying to protect its funding at the expense of Maui’s medical community? Or is it about the millions of dollars in tax revenues that could save our schools and rescue our crippled economy?

We live in an ideal climate for cannabis cultivation, and that has given us this opportunity to create a model of both compassionate care and financial sustainability.

Brian J. Murphy

Paia

Click Here For Larger Image

 

[festivus]

Marijuana Dispensaries Headed For Senate Approval

Marijuana Dispensaries Headed For Senate Approval

This is great news!

As reported by Daryl Huff, KITV 4 News-

HONOLULU -- Oahu would have 10 medical marijuana "compassion centers" under a bill expected to pass the state Senate next week. Another 11 dispensaries would be distributed among the neighbor islands.

The Senate Ways and Means committee approved SB 1458 with only one "no' vote Thursday, from Republican Sen. Sam Slom, of Hawaii Kai.

Slom got a laugh from the packed hearing room whe he said "people need their dope, but I'm against taxes, so I have to vote 'no.'"

The proposal would allow commercial marijuana cultivation for the first time, with the licensed dispensaries selling limited amounts of marijuana to people who have chronic illnesses and qualify for medical marijuana cards.

There would be separate licenses for dispensaries, cultivation and for manufacturing food products which include marijuana.

All the licensees would pay a fee, be subject to heavy regulation and pay income and excise taxes.

People who are certified medical marijuana patients in other states would be able to get a hawaii certificate while visiting for a $100 fee.

Although not opposing legal use of medical marijuana, a drug-treatment expert said he is concerned about growing increasing numbers of adolescent marijuana addicts seeking treatment. Alan Johnson of the drug treatment center Hina Mauka said that the state should put out prevention information, particularly if it encourages easier access to medical marijuana.

 

[vta]

People who are certified medical marijuana patients in other states would be able to get a hawaii certificate while visiting for a $100 fee.

I really like this part. I'll be back there in a couple months and it would be nice to be legal during my visit.

 

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

Only 11 dispensaries for Oahu? Talk about a golden ticket.....

 

[festivus]

They're sayin 10 on Oahu, and 11 on the neighbor islands. Lets see... 2 on Kauai, 1 on Molokai, 1 on Lanai, 3 on the Big Island.... that leaves 4 for Maui?!

 

[merlin123]

Would be so awesome if they honor out-of-state MJ Medical cards. Sounds like Arizona is going to.

Great news.

 

[Greyskull]

hmmmm....
fucking badass!
thanks festivus for the update!
1 in kihei, 1 in kahului, 1 in paia, and 1 in haiku, maybe?

 

[Greyskull]

from http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/bills/SB1458_.HTM:

(5) Collects from all licensees an initial licensing fee of $20,000 for a class 1 medical marijuana compassion center license; $10,000 for a class 2 medical marijuana cultivation license; and $10,000 for a class 3 medical marijuana-infused products manufacturing license

and

(1) An annual fee of $20,000 for the issuance of a class 1 medical marijuana compassion center license and a fee for annual renewal of a class 1 license in the same amount;

dayum! 20gs. ANNUALLY. to start a dispenary. and 10gs to get a cultivation license... not quite so bad. costs of doing business no doubt.

unless im not finding/reading the right materials. overall though im pretty impressed with my state. chee hoooo!!!!

 

[designer]

Source: Garden Island (Lihue, HI)
Author: Jessica Musicar


ACLU THREAT CAUSES COUNTY TO PULL OUT OF RALLY

LIHU'E -- A day after the County of Kaua'i pulled out of an anti-drug rally it had planned to host, County Attorney Al Castillo said the county is no longer in danger of legal action from the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU on Wednesday wrote to the county to raise "serious legal concerns" about using public funds to host a partisan event.

"We have duly noted the concerns of the ACLU and will certainly consider them in light of future action on these bills and others," Castillo said via an e-mail from county spokeswoman Beth Tokioka.

Tokioka added in a separate e-mail that because the county resolved the issue, Castillo no longer anticipates any further action from the ACLU.

"I don't think we're planning to reschedule it from the county side," she said.

The Kaua'i Police Department, County of Kaua'i Anti-Drug Program, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, and local community organizations had first advertised they would sponsor the event.

The demonstration was intended to raise awareness and inform the community of dangers associated with pending marijuana legislation, according to a county press release.

County councilman Mel Rapozo, acting as a private citizen, reinstated the rally following the county's cancellation Thursday morning. It was held that afternoon in front of the Historic County Building.

ACLU's Complaint

In a letter sent to Castillo and KPD Chief Darryl Perry, the ACLU urged the county to cancel or postpone the rally because it believed county employees were "acting outside the scope of their limited, delegated authority, thus exposing the county to litigation," and faced liability under the First Amendment. The complaint was accompanied by a 16-page-description of an ACLU lawsuit against City and County of Honolulu prosecuting attorney Peter Carlisle regarding a similar matter.

"The issue with the upcoming rally is not about the individual police officers, prosecuting attorneys and other county employees expressing their viewpoints," the letter states. "It is about the potential use of public resources ( including time and labor of county employees ) to do so."

The ACLU letter alleges that neither the police department nor the prosecutor have the authority under the county's charter to use public funds to advocate for a particular political position; and that using public resources to fund the rally could expose the county to liability under the First Amendment.

Castillo said the county hasn't run into this problem before.

"County officials involved have previously spoken publicly against these measures and these concerns were never raised," Castillo said.

Much Ado About Press Releases

The trouble began after the ACLU learned of the county's first press release regarding its plans to hold the rally.

It includes a quote from County Prosecutor Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, who stated that if the proposed marijuana bills passed, they would result in increased violent crime, economic crisis, and a higher rate of marijuana usage among children. It also stated that police chiefs and prosecuting attorneys from the four counties stand united against this "dangerous legislation."

"It cannot be disputed that the overriding purpose of the rally is to persuade constituents to lobby legislators to vote against the pending bills, HB 1169 and SB 58," the ACLU wrote in its complaint letter.

Citing Stanson v. Mott in the California Supreme Court, the ACLU argued that the expenditures for such matters would raise potentially serious constitutional questions.

"The Stanson court, after reviewing the relevant jurisprudence in other jurisdictions, explicitly limited the department's campaign activities to neutral informational messages stating ... 'A fundamental precept of this nation's democratic electoral process is that the government may not 'take sides' in election contests or bestow an unfair advantage on one of several competing factions,'" the complaint letter stated.

Cancellation Tug-Of-War

Hours before the rally began, the county sent a press release stating it was canceling the rally due to a flash flood warning. Then the county issued a second release stating that the ACLU complaint was also a cause for the sudden cancellation.

Rapozo said the county couldn't stop the event, which he had originally scheduled.

"To use the weather as an excuse is unacceptable," Rapozo said Thursday. "The reason for the cancellation wasn't the weather. It was the ACLU's concerns."

Attempts to contact ACLU were unsuccessful.

This is a constitutionally righteous post. The public office has no fucking business getting into politics period. That is akin to communism. Great post VTA,

Now the public office needs to neutralize their previous attempts with a letter of fault on their end.

 

[Grow Tech]

overall though im pretty impressed with my state. chee hoooo!!!!

Hey Bro, I hope you're at least claiming dual "citizenship" for Hawaii and Cali

 

[festivus]

hmmmm....
fucking badass!
thanks festivus for the update!
1 in kihei, 1 in kahului, 1 in paia, and 1 in haiku, maybe?

Prolly 1 in Lahaina, 1 Kihei, 1 Wailuku and 1 Upcountry. Don't know if there would be a Paia shop, after the last unfortunate attempt. Maybe a more central location like Pukalani (you know I can't drive in Haiku lol)

 

[pakasymbiot]

Uping plant count would be nice, but fuck the dispencerys ......May they all be burned down and may tweekers robb them each and everyday!!!

We dont need asshats from cali or where ever coming and stealing the weed game from locals who have held it down for the past 20 years when it was not cool to grow dope,,,,,Soccer moms should stick to watching there fat kids play soccer, then trying to grow and flood the market with shitty weed !!!

if you cant find herb in hawaii .....You never adapted and should go back home !!!

We have a saying , its nice for you to visit , just dont forget to go home

For real Hades~ This is some shit huh?

Thats' right, if you can't find it, then go home... If people are having a hard time finding herb, which they so "need, love, are sooo passionate about"....Then maybe you don't really love, need, or feel passionate about cannabis. at least on the BI.
Right now, there's loads of herb being grown on the BI, a surplus.

It sounds like a nice idea!"weed store!", but go to the BI and there are thousands of weed stores walking around, surfing, cruising...so much herb there. If they allowed citizens to carry medicine island to island...that much medicine could find its way into every medical users hand.

O'ahu...we'll they're already fucked in all ways of life!lol
Whats really going on is O'ahu needs some money to keep the machine going, they are trying to use our medicine and sacriment to fund a corrupt system of taxes and misuse of power. I for one wont take the bone being offered. Someone else lording over you can never be in your best interest.


OLDHAOLE has got it right: "First off reprocity for us would be the holy grail. But right now we can not even take our medicine island to island.

Dispenseries? We have what? 15,000 cards out there, most on the BI
Since most people get there card so they can legaly grow, a big legal customer base does not exist here.

So tiny legal market and huge black market with a large portion of the crop bottled up in state....Dispensaries are just a way for the state to get in the money game. Until we can export...theres no reason to give the state a cut.

And if we ever get to the point where export becomes possible, we have nothing to fear from the mainland. If anything, they should fear us."

word...we can grow the most psychoactive cannabis on earth here. We do need to keep from importing shitty CALI bud that floods the market!


Keep growing pure Sativas, That's Hawaii's claim to fame and helps make Hawaiian herb somewhat unique these days.pece