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A Senate panel in Hawaii has approved a proposal to quintuple the amount of marijuana that a person can possess without risk of criminal charges.<\/p>\n
The bill, SB 319, would increase the amount of cannabis that\u2019s been decriminalized in Hawaii from the current 3 grams up to 15 grams. Possession of any amount of marijuana up to the 15-gram limit would remain a civil violation, punishable by a fine of $130.<\/p>\n
The measure would also slightly adjust the amount of possessed marijuana that would qualify as \u201cpromoting a detrimental drug in the second degree,\u201d raising it from the current one ounce (28.35 grams) to 30 grams.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers on the Senate Committee on Judiciary voted to pass the measure, with only one member\u2014Sen. Mike Gabbard (D)\u2014voting no. Gabbard, who\u2019s in the past been a supporter of legalizing marijuana in the state, cited testimony from the prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) in justifying his vote.<\/p>\n
Also submitting written testimony ahead of Tuesday\u2019s action were the state Department of the Attorney General, Office of the Public Defender and Department of Law Enforcement, among others.<\/p>\n
\nThe state AG\u2019s office opposed the bill, asking lawmakers to put it on hold. The office pointed to the proposal\u2019s lack of regulation and laboratory testing compared to a more comprehensive legalization scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the eventual goal is the legalization of cannabis,\u201d its testimony said, \u201can approach that comprehensively addresses a regulatory scheme to protect the public, support law enforcement, and provide revenue to the State to cover the costs of the negative effects of increased marijuana use would be a preferable way to reach that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
The public defender\u2019s office supported the bill but requested an amendment that would also decriminalize marijuana paraphernalia.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement groups opposed the bill, with the state Department of Law Enforcement saying that lowering punishments for possession of nearly a half once of marijuana could inspire \u201ca greater temptation to illegally supply other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Distributing cannabis remains a crime in Hawaii.<\/p>\n
Among the groups who supported the measure included the Community Alliance on Prisons, Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), ACLU of Hawai\u2019i, the Hawai\u2019i Alliance for Cannabis Reform.<\/p>\n
ACLU of Hawai\u2019i\u2019s policy director, Carrie Ann Shirota, wrote that the measure would \u201cfurther reduce the number of unreasonable arrests for cannabis possession in our already bloated criminal justice system\u201d and \u201creduce targeted enforcement of cannabis laws against specific communities,\u201d such as men under 25 and Native Hawaiians, who are disproportionately arrested under the state\u2019s laws against marijuana possession.<\/p>\n
Separately in Hawaii, the state\u2019s House of Representatives voted last week to delay a sweeping proposal that would have legalized marijuana<\/a>, effectively halting the bill\u2019s progress until next legislative session.<\/p>\n \u2014 Though companion legislation is still alive on the Senate side\u2014and set to be heard by lawmakers later this week\u2014it\u2019s expected that the measure will also fail to advance through the House this year.<\/p>\n On a voice vote on second reading of the bill last Thursday, the House voted to recommit the measure, HB 1246, sponsored by Rep. David Tarnas (D). The 313-page proposal would have legalized adult-use marijuana and brought together hemp and cannabis regulation under a single agency, the Hawaii Cannabis and Hemp Office.<\/p>\n Some lawmakers criticized the motion from Rep. Chris Todd (D) to recommit the bill, saying it is unusual to scuttle proposals on second reading.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very important to note that it has been rare custom and practice on this floor to recommit a bill on second reading\u2026in my 18 years here so far,\u201d said Rep. Della Au Belatti (D), who entered a no vote on the motion.<\/p>\n Rep. Amy Perruso (D) said she had looked forward to a more thorough discussion of the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cI really appreciate the conversations and the debate and the discussion that we have in this process,\u201d she said. \u201cFor me that\u2019s really important, and to have it cut short so early in the process is disheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n Republican Rep. Kanani Sousa rose to ask what prompted the motion to recommit.<\/p>\n \u201cI would like to know the reasons why we are recommitting the bill,\u201d she said. \u201cI just want a response to my request.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaker of the House Rep. Nadine Nakamura (D) replied: \u201cThere will be no response.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawmakers on the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs\u00a0attended an informational briefing on the bill last week<\/a>. Much of the roughly two-hour event consisted of presentations from legalization advocates, regulatory experts and industry and community representatives. They gave lawmakers an overview of state-level legalization in the U.S. and spoke to how the Hawaii proposal built on lessons learned in other states.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Senate approved a separate legalization measure last March<\/a>, but, as with past efforts to end prohibition in the state, it stalled out in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n This past fall, regulators solicited proposals to\u00a0assess the state\u2019s current medical marijuana program<\/a>\u2014and also sought to estimate demand for recreational sales if the state eventually moves forward with adult-use legalization. Some read the move as a sign the regulatory agency saw a need to prepare to the potential reform.<\/p>\n Hawaii was the first U.S. state to legalize medical marijuana through its legislature, passing a law in 2000.<\/p>\n Separately in Hawaii, the House Committee on Labor unanimously voted to\u00a0advance legislation that would protect state-registered medical marijuana patients from discrimination in the workplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump Administration Secures Release Of American Medical Marijuana Patient Who Was Serving 14-Year Sentence In Russia<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Hawaii Senate Panel Approves Bill To Increase Amount Of Marijuana That\u2019s Decriminalized Under State Law<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A Senate panel in Hawaii has approved a proposal to quintuple the amount of marijuana that a person can possess without risk of criminal charges. The bill, SB 319, would increase the amount of cannabis that\u2019s been decriminalized in Hawaii from the current 3 grams up to 15 grams. PossessionContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":80211,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80210"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80212,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80210\/revisions\/80212"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Hawaii Senate Panel Approves Bill To Increase Amount Of Marijuana That\u2019s Decriminalized Under State Law<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"