Pubdate: Sat, 22 Mar 2008
Source: West Hawaii Today (HI)
Copyright: 2008 West Hawaii Today
Contact:  http://westhawaiitoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/644
Author: Jim Quirk
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)

DEA SAYS IT MAY ASSUME POT PROGRAM

HILO -- Should Hawaii County refuse to accept a $282,000 federal Drug 
Enforcement Administration grant for the island's marijuana eradication 
program, there is a possibility federal authorities will initiate their own 
eradication program, a DEA official said Friday.

Garrison Courtney, a DEA official in Washington, D.C., said his agency 
typically tries to respect the efforts of local jurisdictions in 
controlling illegal drugs like marijuana.

"There's a possibility" the DEA would initiate its own marijuana 
eradication program on the Big Island if the local Police Department was 
unable to control the problem and if it were discovered harvested crops 
were being shipped to the mainland, he said.

advertisementIf the DEA feels there is a trafficking problem, "then yes, 
we're most likely going to step in to relieve the trafficking," Courtney said.

Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna expressed concerns this week regarding the 
possibility of the County Council voting against accepting the grant money. 
The Police Department has little funding from previous grants remaining for 
the eradication program, which has been operating on a minimal basis in 
recent months.

The latest DEA grant available is sorely needed to continue the program, 
Mahuna said, and he believes the program will eventually be taken over by 
the DEA if the council refuses the money.

Mahuna also said he is concerned that, should the council decide to not 
accept the grant, the DEA would be able to operate the program outside of 
the parameters established by the council. For instance, the council has 
control over how low to the ground police helicopters can fly when 
searching for marijuana crops.

Courtney said if the DEA initiated an eradication program on the island, it 
would attempt to respect laws of the local government, but the bottom line 
is the agency operates under federal regulations, not laws established by 
local governments.

Council members who were asked Thursday on how they plan to vote on the 
grant issue were all over the board: some are on the fence, some favor the 
program and others are against it.

Puna Councilwoman Emily Naeole said she's against the program because she's 
heard too many stories from constituents about police using violence in 
drug raids.

Courtney, however, said DEA officials also have to resort to violence 
sometimes when making busts.

Drug dealers and people responsible for growing illegal marijuana crops are 
"not going to greet you with a smile and a handshake," he said.

"The unfortunate part about drug enforcement is the violence," Courtney said.

When law enforcement authorities show up at a home of a person responsible 
for growing large quantities of marijuana, because there's usually a lot of 
cash at stake and the notion the person will end up in jail for a long 
time, "there's going to be violence," he said.

The council's Finance Committee is slated to discuss the grant during an 
April 8 meeting, and the full council is expected to vote on it during a 
subsequent meeting.
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