As SB 472 SD2, a bill to decriminalize marijuana, was unanimously approved by the Hawaii Senate, and two bills to improve Hawaii’s medical marijuana program are poised for passage in the House, Hawaii advocates have announced the launch of two statewide coalitions to reform local marijuana laws.
Fresh Approach Hawaii is a group of local organizations, businesses and individuals active on all aspects of local marijuana law reform: informing the community and policy makers, advocating for legislative measures to legalize and decriminalize marijuana, and bills to improve Hawaii’s medical marijuana program. The group can be found on the web at freshapproachhawaii.org, and on Twitter and Facebook.
The Medical Cannabis Coalition of Hawaii works confidentially with patients, caregivers and doctors to safely access Hawaii’s 13 year-old medical marijuana program, holds statewide meetings for the medical cannabis community, and advocates at the legislature for improvements to the program. They can be found on the web at mcchi.org, and on Twitter and Facebook.
Pam Lichty, President of the Drug Policy Action Group, said: “Hawaii voters want a fresh approach to marijuana laws. Our recent polling reveals that 81% of Hawaii voters support our medical marijuana program, and that 58% think that possession by adults of small amounts should not carry criminal penalty. The trend around the nation is to ditch counterproductive marijuana laws that divert law enforcement resources from addressing violent crime. With today’s action, it’s clearer than ever that Hawaii is right in step with that direction. The formation of these two coalitions creates a more formal channel for people to directly engage with these issues, and to advocate for meaningful marijuana policy reforms.”
– Read the entire article at Hawaii Reporter.
