DrugSense

DrugSense

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 18 Feb 2013 – It is ironic that our country’s Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper, because any mention of hemp today is likely to be met with raised eyebrows. However, the public perception of hemp, which is not the same plant as marijuana, might be on the verge of a dramatic national shift.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 18 Feb 2013 – Hawaii is one of the nation’s safest states from violent crime but prison walls have been spilling over to Arizona because of another policy: mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. A federal sentencing commission determined two years ago that such sentencing rules are "excessively severe" and studies in Hawaii agree. Putting offenders behind bars for a requisite period in drug cases is harsh, futile and expensive, and state legislators should put the mandate aside. Congress approved mandatory minimum sentences as part of the "war on drugs" in the 1970s. Hawaii passed its mandatory minimum for drug offenders in 1986 and so did most other states. By the 1990s, then-U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist acknowledged that those measures were "perhaps a good example of the law of unintended consequences."

DrugSense

DrugSense

DrugSense

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 13 Feb 2013 – A Proposal to Legalize Recreational Use of Marijuana Has "No Chance" of Passing Hawaii will not be following Colorado and Washington state on legalizing marijuana – at least not this year. The state House Judiciary Committee tabled a bill Tuesday that would have legalized the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana for personal use for those 21 years old or older. The bill would have also allowed marijuana cultivation and the establishment of retail marijuana stores. A 15 percent excise tax would have been imposed on marijuana sales.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 09 Feb 2013 – Three months ago, voters in Colorado and Washington approved ballot initiatives aimed at legalizing the possession, production and distribution of marijuana. A month later, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department would settle on a response to this historic development "relatively soon." How soon is that? I have been trying to get a response to that question from Justice Department spokeswoman Nanda Chitre for about a month, but she is not returning my calls.

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