Bill Text: HI SB1259 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Marijuana; County Authorization to Legalize

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-12-17 - Carried over to 2016 Regular Session. [SB1259 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-SB1259-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1259
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO MARIJUANA.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that certain state policies should be revised in response to our current economic climate.  One of these policies relates to criminal offenses that prohibit the possession of marijuana.  The legislature further finds that the costs to enforce criminal marijuana possession statutes are substantial.  According to a report entitled The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization for Hawai‘i, which was completed in December of 2012 by David C. Nixon, an economist from the University of Hawaii, state and county law enforcement agencies spent $9,300,000 in 2011 to enforce marijuana possession laws.  Meanwhile, a recent scientific survey of registered voters in the State conducted by Qmark Research in 2014 found that 63 per cent of those surveyed favored making possession and personal use of marijuana a civil violation instead of a crime, and 60 per cent favored outright legalization of marijuana.  The decriminalization study indicates that less than 2 per cent of all arrests in Hawaii between the years of 1997 and 2004 were for marijuana possession.  Furthermore, of the misdemeanor marijuana drug cases brought in district court, approximately 65 per cent are dismissed, stricken, or not prosecuted.  A relatively small proportion, approximately 25 per cent, result in convictions.  As the decriminalization study concludes:  "Few [of those arrested for marijuana possession] are actually prosecuted under the law, fewer convicted, and virtually none serve jail time.  Of those convicted, probation is the usual sentence for first time offenders."  Clearly, although the cost to enforce marijuana possession laws is substantial, the resulting conviction rate is low.

     The legislature finds that the low conviction and arrest rates do not act as a deterrent to marijuana users.  The decriminalization study compared the findings of a study surveying the number of households engaged in the regular use of marijuana with actual arrest rates.  The results of this comparison indicate that the risk of arrest is between 1.54 per cent and 2.16 per cent in any given year for members of households in which there is regular marijuana use.  According to the decriminalization study, the chance of a marijuana user being arrested and convicted is approximately 0.4 per cent.  It is clear that the arrest and conviction risks associated with marijuana use do not act as a deterrent to marijuana use, and few of those who use marijuana on a regular basis experience the consequences of these risks, notwithstanding the costs to enforce the criminal statutes prohibiting such conduct.

     Some states have passed laws decriminalizing marijuana.  Typically, decriminalization means no prison time or criminal record for first-time possession of a small amount for personal consumption.  The conduct is treated like a minor traffic violation.  According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, the following states have decriminalized possession of a small amount for personal consumption:  Alaska, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  Colorado and Washington have legalized the recreational use of cannabis, and Oregon, Alaska, and Washington, D.C. voters have approved the legalization of recreational marijuana use.

     According to a report prepared by the Connecticut Law Revision Commission for the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, studies of states that have reduced penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana have found that:

     (1)  Expenses for arrests and prosecution of marijuana possession offenses were significantly reduced;

     (2)  If marijuana use increased, it increased less in states with reduced penalties when compared to states that did not reduce their penalties, and "the largest proportionate increase occurred in those states with the most severe penalties"; and

     (3)  Reducing the penalties for marijuana possession has virtually no effect on either the choice or frequency of use of alcohol or illegal "harder" drugs such as cocaine.

     In Hawaii county, a voter initiative was passed in 2008 by a majority of 35,000 voters that directs county law enforcement officials to treat the "adult personal use" of marijuana as its lowest law enforcement priority and prohibits the county from accepting or expending funds for the marijuana eradication program and for enforcing potential offenses for the adult personal use of marijuana.

     The legislature further finds that the costs associated with criminal prosecution for possession of marijuana are extremely high in relation to the benefits of prosecuting those offenses.  Authorizing the counties to legalize marijuana would greatly reduce the costs for prosecution and enforcement and generate tax revenue.

     The purpose of this Act is to authorize the counties to adopt ordinances to legalize marijuana possession, sale, and use, for persons over the age of twenty-one.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§46-    Legalization of marijuana.  (a)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any county may adopt an ordinance, excluding referendums and initiatives, to legalize marijuana cultivation, possession, sale, transfer, and use within its geographical boundaries by any person over the age of twenty-one years, whether for personal, commercial, or medicinal purposes.

     (b)  An ordinance adopted in accordance with subsection (a) shall:

     (1)  Supercede statutes prohibiting the cultivation, possession, sale, transfer, and use of marijuana, including part IX of chapter 329 and part IV of chapter 712; and

     (2)  Not be recognized in any county that has not adopted the same or similar ordinance.

     (c)  A county that adopts an ordinance under this section shall adopt administrative rules pursuant to chapter 91 to regulate the cultivation, possession, sale, transfer, and use of marijuana.  An ordinance shall not become effective until the rules are adopted."

     SECTION 3.  Chapter 712, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§712-    County legalization of marijuana.  (a)  A person who cultivates, possesses, sells, transfers, or uses marijuana in any amount shall not be deemed in violation of this part in any county that has adopted an ordinance and administrative rules pursuant to section 46-  .

     (b)  This part shall not be enforceable in a county that has adopted an ordinance and rules pursuant to section 46-  ."

     SECTION 4.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before the effective date of county ordinances adopted pursuant to this Act and administrative rules adopted thereto.

     SECTION 5.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Marijuana; County Authorization to Legalize

 

Description:

Authorizes the counties to adopt ordinances to legalize marijuana possession, sale, and use, for persons over the age of twenty-one.  Clarifies that penal code provisions pertaining to drug and intoxicating compounds offenses do not apply to counties that have adopted ordinances legalizing marijuana and adopted administrative rules to regulate marijuana.

 

 

 

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