Pubdate: Sat, 24 Jan 2015
Source: West Hawaii Today (HI)
Copyright: 2015 the Associated Press
Contact: http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/contact_us/letters/
Website: http://westhawaiitoday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/644
Author: Cathy Bussewitz, the Associated Press

STATE LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE POT ACCESS BILLS

HONOLULU (AP) - State lawmakers are beginning to introduce a series 
of bills that aim to make marijuana more freely available in the state.

A bill to decriminalize marijuana is currently being drafted, said 
Sen. Will Espero, chairman of the Public Safety, Intergovernmental 
and Military Affairs Committee. That bill would reduce punishment for 
using marijuana to a civil violation instead of a felony, he said.

Under the proposal, getting caught with marijuana would be similar to 
getting a parking ticket, and like a parking ticket, violators could 
mail in their responses to the courts. The fine would not exceed 
$100, Espero said.

"Decriminalization might have a chance this year, especially when you 
look at what's going on in other states," Espero said.

But House Majority Leader Scott Saiki has said he believes 
decriminalization is unlikely to pass. "I don't think there's much 
more support for it," Saiki said.

Espero planned to introduce at least two other bills on the topic.

One bill, SB 190, would allow marijuana growers to serve three 
medical marijuana patients at a time, instead of the current 
one-person limit. That's especially important for elderly patients 
who may not be able to cultivate a garden, he said. The bill also 
spells out how patients or caregivers can get seeds or plants.

"Right now the law is silent on how a person can receive their 
seedlings to grow marijuana," Espero said.

Another bill would change the drug's classification. Marijuana is 
currently in classification 1, meaning it's considered as dangerous as heroin.

"This is an error or mistake that people have been trying to get the 
federal government to change, but it hasn't," Espero said.

In the House, a bill was introduced Thursday to prohibit 
discrimination against medical marijuana users in condominiums. That 
bill, HB 31, says that if house rules or bylaws discriminate against 
medical marijuana users, those rules are void, unless the complex 
prohibits tobacco smoking and the patient ingests medical marijuana by smoking.

Lawmakers have made it clear that increasing access to medical 
marijuana - likely through dispensaries - will be a priority.
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