Hawaii medical cannabis patients are at the end of their rope.

For 14 years, they have not been able to access safe, efficacious medicine due to a hastily crafted state law that forces them to buy on the illegal market.

Even more egregious, if a state dispensary bill is passed in 2015, it would be two to three years before administrative rules are adopted, exacerbating the stress and pain.

Patients cannot wait more years. Lawmakers have already demonstrated their lack of compassion and caring for the sick and dying.

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It's been almost 15 years since the law was enacted, and Hawaii still doesn't know what to do with its medical marijuana program. It's actually less of a program than a policy, and that policy is: Hawaii residents can get a prescription for the drug, but filling it is another matter.

If the state had the concern that it should about maintaining the integrity of the program and quality control for the drug it provides, lawmakers would finally finish the work they started in 2000 by establishing a regulated dispensary system. The fact that it hasn't yet done so means that anyone enrolled in the program is on their own, with no reasonable way to ensure the effectiveness or safety of what they're using.

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HONOLULU (AP) - Fourteen years after Hawaii legalized medical marijuana, there is still no legal way for patients to obtain pot without growing it themselves.

The 2000 law also is silent on how the state's 13,000 patients can get the seeds for plants they are allowed to grow.

Even as four states have legalized recreational use of marijuana through voter initiatives, Hawaii legislators remain focused on creating a statewide medical marijuana dispensary system, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported

"I do expect that bills will be introduced on decriminalization and legalization, as always," said Democratic state Sen. Will Espero, chairman of the Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs Committee. "But Hawaii's not ready for legalization. The public is not clamoring for it. My colleagues are not knocking on my door saying, 'We have to have it. It is now on the radar and it is gaining momentum.' People are still waiting to see how things are handled in Colorado and Washington and other states."

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Years After Hawaii's Landmark Medical Marijuana Law, Patients Still Struggle to Get the Drug Legally

After allowing marijuana to be used for medical purposes in 2000, Hawaii was widely envisioned to be the first state that would legalize marijuana in America.

Instead, 14 years later, there's no legal way for patients to obtain marijuana without growing it themselves. The law is silent on how the state's 13,000 patients can get seeds for the seven plants they are allowed to grow.

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Of the three jurisdictions where voters approved marijuana legalization last week, Washington, D.C., is the smallest but the most symbolically potent.

The prospect of legal marijuana in the nation's capital dramatically signals the ongoing collapse of the 77-yearold ban on a much-maligned plant.

The passage of Initiative 71, which voters backed by a margin of more than 2 to 1, presents a challenge to the Republicans who will soon control both houses of Congress.

Will they respect democracy and local control, or will they insist that Washingtonians toe a prohibitionist line that is steadily disappearing?

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Medical marijuana advocates are applauding a new law that aims to improve housing protection by voiding provisions in state rental agreements that had allowed a tenant's eviction based on their status as a registered medical marijuana patient.

Act 60, enacted by the Legislature and signed by the governor earlier this year, takes effect Saturday.

Rafael Kennedy, executive director of the Medical Cannabis Coalition of Hawaii and Drug Policy Action Group, said it is encouraging to see the issue coming to light.

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Aloha. I'm fresh out of 50 months in federal prison for operating The Hawaii Cannabis Ministry where we helped to prevent and treat pain, disease and spiritual disconnection. Just reporting, not complaining.

What a great and unexpected education I received in prison. Now, it's time for me to make some lemonade.

Please know that there are now multiple U.S. Patents for cannabinoids in the prevention and treatment of pain and disease including for cancer. Also, the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2012 was given to the study of the two main cannabinoid 'receptors' CB1 and CB2.

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Bob Jones may not write silly columns, but he sure makes a habit of writing thoughtless ones. As usual, he uses ad hominem attacks followed by non sequiturs in trying to dismiss Froma Harrop's sound arguments for drug legalization and regulation.

First, he inexplicably calls her a liberal, then equates her arguments with libertarianism. Ms. Harrop correctly argues that the war on drugs has completely failed in its attempt to stop drug use and abuse. It has been spectacularly successful in creating a huge prison/legal/police/gang industrial complex, and is more responsible for the militarization of our "protect and serve" police forces than the 9/11 attacks.

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What exactly is the purpose of the marijuana prohibition? We know, based on the evidence, that the marijuana prohibition does not reduce marijuana use in any way, shape or form and has, in fact, only increased marijuana use among all age groups. We know that it does not discourage teenagers from using and may, in fact, actually promote marijuana use.

We know that in Amsterdam, for example, where marijuana is freely available, they have a lower rate of cannabis use than in America. We know that in Colorado pot use is down among teenagers despite full legalization. We know that traffic fatalities and violent crimes are down as well. We know that our government has spent billions on this pointless prohibition with absolutely zero accomplishments to date.

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Thirty years ago, a college kid in Kentucky was caught growing marijuana plants in his closet.

That turned him into a convicted felon, and though he's been on the right side of the law ever since, he still can't vote. On any job application, he must check the box next to "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"

All this misery for growing a plant whose leaves the past three presidents admit having smoked.

We know this story because Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky keeps telling it. That a Southern Republican probably running for president is condemning such prosecutions as unfair speaks volumes on the collapsing support for the war on marijuana - part of the larger war on drugs.

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Kevin Sabet just doesn't get it ("If you think Big Tobacco was bad, wait until you see Big Marijuana," StarAdvertiser, Insight, Sept. 24).

Big Marijuana already exists in the form of Mexican drug cartels. These are ruthless people who cut off heads to resolve business disputes, sell drugs to anyone regardless of age, and have a vested financial interest in providing cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin to consumers.

Like it or not, marijuana is here to stay. We can collect taxes on legal marijuana or we can subsidize drug cartels. Punitive laws have little, if any, deterrent value. Despite the dire predictions of drug warriors, the sky is not falling in Colorado.

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Saying changes need to be made to reduce their pain and inconvenience, patients and caregivers testified Wednesday evening in favor of establishing statewide medical marijuana dispensaries.

But at least a few residents, including a physician, advised that the dispensaries should be centralized and that marijuana in its various forms should be kept out of the hands of children and put in child-proof containers, in view of some research that shows its early use can hamper brain development.

More than 70 people attended the public meeting held by the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force at the state Capitol auditorium.

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Proponents of legalization and other drug policy reforms make some important points.

It is true that most people who try drugs do not get addicted - they stop after using a few times.

It is also true - and regrettable - that America's incarceration rate is embarrassingly high and that blacks and Latinos bear the brunt of harsh arrest policies.

And, finally, despite our best efforts, fully eradicating drug use and its consequences remains a distant dream.

But placing faith that legalization will help any of these issues is misguided. In fact, legalization threatens to further contribute to disproportionate health outcomes among minorities, all the while creating a massive new industry - Big Tobacco 2.0 - intent on addicting the most vulnerable in society.

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Research Focuses on Marijuana's Harm, and Ignores Its Medical Benefits

Is America's scientific research biased to focus on the harmful effects of drugs?

That was one of the questions at the heart of a congressional hearing this summer seeking to understand more comprehensively the scientific evidence related to marijuana. And it was how Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found herself being grilled by Rep. Gerald Connolly, D-Va.

"Dr. Volkow, your testimony seems to completely disregard lots of other data," he accused.

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Legal Medically, but Difficult to Obtain, Lawmakers to See If Loophole Can Be Fixed

This is the first in a two-part series looking at a loophole in the medical marijuana industry that allows patients to possess and use the substance, but not obtain it unless they grow it themselves. Part two will be published in Monday's TGI.

LIHUE - It has been just over 14 years since Hawaii made history.

At the time, the 50th state became the first in the nation to establish a medical marijuana program through legislation rather than ballot initiative.

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The state has agreed to eliminate a rule requiring permits for protests at the Capitol and other state properties.

In a settlement reached in federal court earlier this month, the state said it will repeal a requirement for groups of 25 or more to obtain a permit to demonstrate on state property.

The permit had to be requested 14 business days in advance and required the applicant to get insurance to protect the state from possible damages.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii sued the state in March, claiming the administrative rule violated the First Amendment by stifling spontaneous demonstrations. The lawsuit also said state officials would sometimes waive the permit requirement without outlining the guidelines for waivers, which allowed officials to approve demonstrations based on their message.

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Marijuana ministry advocate Roger Christie has finally been released after four years in federal custody to a halfway house, and, boy, he said upon his release, would he like to once again consume some of his favorite plant. He added wisely, though, that would be only "when I'm legally allowed to do so."

But, not even counting his four years of probation, that might be never - unless he moves to Washington state or Colorado, where marijuana is legal, and assuming Hawaii doesn't follow those states down that road.

Here in Hawaii, Christie could try to qualify as a medical marijuana patient - his effort to secure a religious exemption obviously didn't succeed - but otherwise his greatest joy might be to just breathe the fresh air of freedom, such as it is.

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Roger Christie Enters a Halfway House As His Term Ends, and He Plans a Federal Appeal

Marijuana ministry advocate Roger Christie emerged from four years in federal custody Thursday and said he's looking forward to his first hit of marijuana - "when I'm legally allowed to do so."

"I want to juice it, I want to eat it, I want to wear it," Christie said in a brief interview before checking into an Iwilei halfway house called Mahoney Hale, where he will stay until his Nov. 14 "expiration of sentence date." Then Christie will be on four years of federal probation and supervised release.

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Big Island Resident Roger Christie Has Been in a Federal Detention Center Since 2010

Hawaii island cannabis advocate Roger Christie, who pleaded guilty in September 2013 to federal charges of marijuana trafficking and failing to file tax returns, is being released to a halfway house.

Christie is considered an icon among some marijuana supporters and has been in custody in Honolulu's Federal Detention Center since his arrest in July 2010 on the trafficking indictment.

State Sen. Will Espero had planned to visit him but was told that Christie was to be released Thursday, Espero said. Jeff Davis, a Christie friend and Libertarian candidate for Hawaii governor, also said Christie is being released Thursday.

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Meetings on How to Address Hawaii's Regulations Are Set for Oahu and the Big Island

Any system of medical marijuana distribution centers in Hawaii would likely incorporate policies and programs that have proved successful in other states, but also accommodate the unique needs of the state's roughly 13,000 medicinal cannabis patients, officials say.

Those concerns include consideration of the fact that all interisland transport of marijuana is now illegal and that the product can be grown outdoors in Hawaii year-round, unlike in some other states where weather will not permit open-air cultivation, said Peter Whiticar, a branch chief with the state Department of Health and a member of the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force.

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