Bill Text: HI SB418 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Medical Marijuana; Medical Cannabis; Department of Health; Dispensaries; Licensed Producer
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [SB418 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-SB418-Amended.html
STAND. COM. REP. NO. 339
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 418
S.D. 1
Honorable Colleen Hanabusa
President of the Senate
Twenty-Fifth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2009
State of Hawaii
Madam:
Your Committees on Health and Public Safety and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 418 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL CANNABIS,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to protect the health and well being of individuals participating in the State's medical marijuana program by:
(1) Transferring the administration of the State's program for the medical use of marijuana from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health;
(2) Amending the medical use of marijuana law to replace the term, "marijuana" with "cannabis";
(3) Authorizing a registration fee not to exceed $50; and
(4) Establishing the medical cannabis advisory board to identify requirements for the licensure of producers and cannabis production facilities and set forth procedures to obtain licenses and develop a distribution system for medical cannabis.
Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, The Drug Policy Forum, and the Hope for a Cure Foundation of West Oahu. The Drug Policy Action Group submitted testimony to your Committees in support with amendments. Testimony in opposition of this measure was submitted by the Department of Health, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, County of Maui, the City and County of Honolulu Police Department, and the County of Maui Police Department. Comments on this measure were submitted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii. Written testimony presented to your Committees may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.
Your Committees find that the State's medical marijuana program, enacted into law in 2000, is a public health program conceived out of concern for the health and welfare of the seriously ill. Since its inception, concerns have been raised over the proper administration of the program. Patients have stated apprehension in registering with the Narcotics Enforcement Agency, particularly in light of a breach in security that occurred in 2008, releasing the database of 4,200 patient names and information to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald newspaper.
Your Committees further find that safe distribution of medical cannabis to patients participating in the program is crucial. Your Committees find that a task force should be established to develop a distribution plan and research laws in other states, such as New Mexico, that have implemented successful medical cannabis distribution programs.
Your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Removing the advisory board;
(2) Establishing a medical cannabis task force to develop a distribution plan and make recommendations to the Legislature on the implementation of the program; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and style.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Public Safety and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 418, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 418, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Public Safety and Military Affairs,
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____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair |
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____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair |
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