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.

Hawaiian police recently arrested seven individuals for allegedly running a drug smuggling operation, that law enforcement is saying operated under the guise of a medical marijuana organization.

The leader of the group claims the arrests are the result of a lawsuit he filed against state police. Under Hawaii state law, a physician can recommend marijuana use for a patient with a debilitating disease and allow a patient to have seven marijuana plants and up to three ounces of marijuana.

Brian Murphy filed a lawsuit in order to get money back that was seized by police, cliaming money seized in a raid was collected legally under the state’s law. Police seized 335 marijuana plants, 2,300 grams of processed marijuana, 4,830 grams of unprocessed marijuana, 32 grams of hashish, 100 marijuana-laced candies, and more than $14,000 in cash from several homes and businesses.