Binky
02-19-2009, 12:57 PM
STATES ARE NOT LIMITED BY FEDERAL LAW WHEN IT COMES TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Kudos for an informative article on medical cannibus ( The Maui News, Feb. 8 ). I especially appreciated the information regarding the large increase in patient numbers. Unfortunately there seems a lack of intellectual factual honesty in that story and "Today's Editorial," Feb. 10.
Simply put, House Bill 1191 implements the recomendations of a 2004 study ordered by the Legislature to identify solutions to the access problems already evident after four years. This is not my opinion, but the conclusions of an authorized study.
The medical efficacy of cannabis, although recognized by our Legislature in 2000, was affirmed by the American College of Physicians, one of the largest medical groups in the country, in their 2008 report supporting medical cannibis use and research.
In 2005 there was an estimated $750 million in Hawaii cannabis sales, according to NORML, a national marijuana advocacy group. The economic benefits of taxing and directing some of that millions in sales to legitimate family farmers are enumerated in a new University of Hawaii study, "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization for Hawaii." All of this without any money exchanged for the medicine itself. HB1191 closely mirrors the recently enacted New Mexico distribution system.
Conversely, stated concerns so far are based on unfounded, insupportable and incorrect statements. Both The Maui News and Maui Police Chief Tom Phillips are wrong to say that federal law trumps state law. That is simply not the case.
Under the U.S. Constitution there is "dual sovereignty." States make and enforce their own laws and the feds do the same. Neither is bound by the other. Our own attorney general and the California attorney general said as much in 2005 with one-page opinions in reaction to a Supreme Court decision. This basic tenet is borne out by our 2007 law allowing patients to purchase cheaper prescriptions from overseas, which is also against federal law. Where are the police and The Maui News on this?
Finally, the most egregious statement, besides the standard, discredited arguments about marijuana being a gateway drug and addictive nature, is the Phillips quote at the end of the Feb. 8 article: "We have had murders, assault, every other crime that goes along with marijuana." Instead of trying to scare folk without supporting evidence, the sentence would be accurate if you added one word so it read: "We have had murders, assaults, every other crime that goes along with marijuana prohibition.
Therein lies the crux of the problem. As President Obama has promised to allow states to determine their own medical cannabis policies, let's work together to create a sensitive, rational, medical approach to all drugs based on facts. I encourage all to come to the table to better serve both patients and the community.
Joe Bertram III is the state representative for District 11, South Maui.
The Maui News
Copyright: 2009 The Maui News
Contact: letters@mauinews.com
Website: http://www.mauinews.com
Kudos for an informative article on medical cannibus ( The Maui News, Feb. 8 ). I especially appreciated the information regarding the large increase in patient numbers. Unfortunately there seems a lack of intellectual factual honesty in that story and "Today's Editorial," Feb. 10.
Simply put, House Bill 1191 implements the recomendations of a 2004 study ordered by the Legislature to identify solutions to the access problems already evident after four years. This is not my opinion, but the conclusions of an authorized study.
The medical efficacy of cannabis, although recognized by our Legislature in 2000, was affirmed by the American College of Physicians, one of the largest medical groups in the country, in their 2008 report supporting medical cannibis use and research.
In 2005 there was an estimated $750 million in Hawaii cannabis sales, according to NORML, a national marijuana advocacy group. The economic benefits of taxing and directing some of that millions in sales to legitimate family farmers are enumerated in a new University of Hawaii study, "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization for Hawaii." All of this without any money exchanged for the medicine itself. HB1191 closely mirrors the recently enacted New Mexico distribution system.
Conversely, stated concerns so far are based on unfounded, insupportable and incorrect statements. Both The Maui News and Maui Police Chief Tom Phillips are wrong to say that federal law trumps state law. That is simply not the case.
Under the U.S. Constitution there is "dual sovereignty." States make and enforce their own laws and the feds do the same. Neither is bound by the other. Our own attorney general and the California attorney general said as much in 2005 with one-page opinions in reaction to a Supreme Court decision. This basic tenet is borne out by our 2007 law allowing patients to purchase cheaper prescriptions from overseas, which is also against federal law. Where are the police and The Maui News on this?
Finally, the most egregious statement, besides the standard, discredited arguments about marijuana being a gateway drug and addictive nature, is the Phillips quote at the end of the Feb. 8 article: "We have had murders, assault, every other crime that goes along with marijuana." Instead of trying to scare folk without supporting evidence, the sentence would be accurate if you added one word so it read: "We have had murders, assaults, every other crime that goes along with marijuana prohibition.
Therein lies the crux of the problem. As President Obama has promised to allow states to determine their own medical cannabis policies, let's work together to create a sensitive, rational, medical approach to all drugs based on facts. I encourage all to come to the table to better serve both patients and the community.
Joe Bertram III is the state representative for District 11, South Maui.
The Maui News
Copyright: 2009 The Maui News
Contact: letters@mauinews.com
Website: http://www.mauinews.com