Bill Text: HI HCR40 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The United States Drug Enforcement Administration To Remove Marijuana From Schedule I Of The Controlled Substances Act And Reschedule Marijuana To Any Schedule Other Than Schedule I For Purposes Of The Medically Controlled Use Of Marijuana.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-15 - Referred to HLT, JUD, referral sheet 20 [HCR40 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-HCR40-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	40
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION TO REMOVE mARIJUANA FROM SCHEDULE I OF THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT AND RESCHEDULE MARIJUANA TO ANY SCHEDULE OTHER THAN SCHEDULE I FOR PURPOSES OF THE MEDICALLY CONTROLLED USE OF MARIJUANA.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, for sixteen years, Act 228, Session Laws of Hawaii (SLH) 2000, provided seriously ill individuals in the State of Hawaii access to therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana; and

 

     WHEREAS, Act 228, SLH 2000, recognized the existence of sufficient medical and anecdotal evidence to establish a record that certain debilitating illnesses respond favorably to the medically controlled use of marijuana; and

 

     WHEREAS, Act 241, SLH 2015, recognized that nearly thirteen thousand patients in Hawaii would benefit from improved access to controlled medical use of marijuana; and

 

WHEREAS, a regulated statewide dispensary system was established to ensure the safe and legal access to medical marijuana for qualifying patients; and

 

     WHEREAS, the majority of states have recognized the medical benefits of medical marijuana and have legalized its use; and

 

WHEREAS, as of November 2016, Hawaii, twenty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico have legalized medical marijuana; and

 

     WHEREAS, the medical benefit of marijuana is confirmed by sixteen years of controlled use in Hawaii and the growing number of jurisdictions that have legalized medical marijuana; and

     WHEREAS, despite the proven record of beneficial use, medical marijuana is still prohibited by federal law; and

 

WHEREAS, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) classifies marijuana in Schedule I, a schedule for substances with no accepted medical use, under the Federal Controlled Substances Act; and

 

     WHEREAS, in October 2009, in deference to the states' legalization of medical marijuana, President Barack Obama's administration encouraged federal prosecutors not to prosecute people who distribute marijuana for medical purposes in accordance with state law; and

 

     WHEREAS, in August 2013, the United States Department of Justice relaxed their marijuana enforcement policy, but they complicated rather than resolved the issue; and

 

WHEREAS, marijuana remained illegal under federal law, but if the states created strong, state-based enforcement efforts, the Department of Justice would defer the federal right to challenge the states' legalization laws; and

 

WHEREAS, the Department of Justice, however, threatened federal prosecution and reserved the right to challenge the states at any time the federal government felt it was necessary to enforce the federal prohibition against marijuana; and

 

     WHEREAS, the shift in federal policy does not resolve the continuing conflict between medical marijuana laws of the states and the controlled substances law of the United States; and

 

WHEREAS, doctors, patients, and marijuana dispensaries that grow, sell, transport, or prescribe marijuana in compliance with Hawaii law are in jeopardy of arrest and sanctions under federal law; and

 

WHEREAS, many banks and credit unions are unwilling to do business with medical marijuana dispensaries since marijuana is considered a controlled substance, resulting in many

dispensaries becoming cash-only businesses, thus increasing the risk of robbery and inhibiting the ability of states to collect taxes; and

 

WHEREAS, the U.S. Postal Service and other shippers are unable to transport marijuana without violating federal law; and

 

WHEREAS, cannabis advertisements are also prohibited and considered "non-mailable" by the U.S. Postal Service because marijuana is considered a controlled substance; and

 

WHEREAS, state universities are unable to test or conduct research on marijuana without fear of losing federal funding; and

 

WHEREAS, on August 12, 2016, the Drug Enforcement Administration denied two petitions to reschedule marijuana to a more appropriate schedule on the Controlled Substances Act; and

 

WHEREAS, the first petition, initiated on December 17, 2009, sought to remove marijuana from Schedule I and reschedule it on any schedule other than Schedule I, 81 Fed. Reg. 53,767 (2016); and

 

WHEREAS, the second petition, initiated on November 20, 2011, sought to remove marijuana from Schedule I and reschedule it as medical cannabis on Schedule II, 81 Fed. Reg. 53,687 (2016); now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that this body requests that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration reverse its August 12, 2016, denials of petitions, 81 Fed. Reg. 53,687 (2016) and 81 Fed. Reg. 53,767 (2016), and reschedule marijuana to any schedule other than Schedule I for purposes of the medically controlled use of marijuana in accordance with state law; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title: 

Requesting the United States Drug Enforcement Agency To Remove Marijuana from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.