Skip to main content

Hawaii House Speaker Files Marijuana Legalization Bill

Submitted by Phillip Smith on (Issue #768)

Hawaii House Speaker Joseph Souki (D-8) last Friday introduced a bill to legalize the possession of marijuana by adults and create a system of taxed and regulated legal marijuana commerce. The measure, House Bill 150, would allow people 21 and over to possess up to an ounce and grow an as yet unspecified number of plants in a secure location.

The bill passed its first reading last Friday, but has yet to be sent to a committee. The 2013 legislative session began Tuesday.

"Regulating and taxing marijuana similarly to alcohol takes marijuana sales out of the hands of criminals and puts them behind the counter in legitimate businesses that will generate significant new revenue for Hawaii," said Mason Tvert, director of communications at the Marijuana Policy Project, which is working on passage of the bill. "Law enforcement resources should be focused on preventing and responding to serious crimes rather than enforcing antiquated marijuana prohibition laws."

In addition to allowing adult possession and cultivation, the bill would also authorize the state to license marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities. Public pot smoking, driving under the influence, and use by individuals under the age of 21 would remain illegal.

The bill introduction comes on the heels of the release earlier this month of a QMark Research Poll that showed support for legalization at 57%. That poll was sponsored by the Drug Policy Action Group, a sister group of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, and the ACLU of Hawaii, suggesting that local as well as national reform groups are pushing the bill.

In the wake of the legalization victories in Colorado and Washington last November, at least a half dozen states are expected to entertain legalization bills. Hawaii is first out the gate; the others are Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Comments

Uncle Bob (not verified)

Nothing of the sort is happening.. please remove your tin-foil hat, good sir.

Mon, 01/21/2013 - 3:03pm Permalink
Paul Rever (not verified)

In reply to by Uncle Bob (not verified)

us is teamed up with several of the mexican cartels. It is a fact that the worlds largest drug dealer and largest importer of narcotic to the USA is  (drum roll please) THE C_I_A. Many foreign nations have engaged in urban warfare drills on US soil for Decades.

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 12:19am Permalink
Xavier Onassis (not verified)

If you think the Mexicans are training the US military you are completely delusional.  Google "School of the Americas" if you're not clear on which direction the training runs.

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 12:11am Permalink
signalfire (not verified)

Do you think they finally looked at the amount of money it was costing them to arrest everybody, hold them in jail a few days, etc and so forth (in lieu of actually, y'know, worrying about criminal behavior) and then they figured out how much they could make in 'regulation and taxes' and decided they needed the money?

And oh, guys?  Thinking you will continue to make it illegal to 'smoke in public' is a joke.  Ain't gonna happen. 

Amazing how all the bible thumpers are afraid of a God-given plant.  

Sun, 01/20/2013 - 8:02pm Permalink
Uncle Bob (not verified)

Does it have the level of support that A64 and I-502 had?  Does it have strong opposition?  Will this go to a pouplar vote in the state or be decided by the state congress?

Tue, 01/22/2013 - 5:46pm Permalink

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.