Okay So It’s Decriminalized, Now What?
January 15th, 2009 by Perry
Back in 2000, Hawaii decriminalized marijuana. That was the first step to helping MMJ patients get the medicine they need, however, much like the law which first legalized medicinal marijuana in California, the legislation’s wording was ineffective and vague.
The law’s holes lead to a number of patients being arrested or having no means of getting their medication. In response to the situation, Brian Murphy, a veteran and MMJ patient, created a co-op of sorts where cardholders could obtain medication once they signed a waiver in acknowledgment of what they were doing.
Maui police recently raided Murphy’s collective and arrested him on the grounds that his operation was actually a drug-smuggling ring operating as a front under Hawaiian law. The governor recently vetoed a bill which would have created a marijuana task force to analyze the situation, so for now, patients are left to find their marijuana on the streets.
So the cycle continues, laws that are passed to help citizens are still being ignored in favor of incarceration.
