Hawaii Senate Bill 1458 began as an effort to allow for the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries across the islands.
On April 26, during a joint committee hearing, Senator Josh Green offered a draft of the bill that introduced new restrictions on medical qualifying conditions that would deny medical marijuana to patients suffering from debilitating pain, nausea or Crohn’s disease. Green’s argument is that there are replacement pharmaceuticals available that could take the place of Cannabis. Once the new law takes effect, patients who have current medical marijuana licenses for one of the banned conditions will have 60 days to turn in their blue card to Public Safety Department.
Pam Lichty, the President of the Drug Police Forum of Hawaii, has an article about the April 26 events here.
These new provisions of the bill are arguably inadmissible, inasmuch as the time for debate has passed; the purpose of the joint committee hearing is to draft a bill that combines the pre-existing versions already passed by both the Hawaii House and the Senate. Senator Green’s draft would appear to introduce entirely new elements never debated or included in any previous draft in either the House or the Senate.
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free." Luke 4:18