Share Christie, wife of jailed cannabis minister Roger Christie, went to the county Elections Office to register her husband as a candidate for mayor. Told she couldn’t do that, she went ahead and registered herself.
“He definitely wanted to run,” Christie said.
Christie pointed out that in 2008 the charter amendment granting lowest law enforcement priority for cannabis enforcement won with 35,689 votes. Mayor Billy Kenoi, on the other hand, secured just 18,180 votes in the primary election. He went on, however, to win 37,368 votes in the general election.
Christie said the community’s work passing the lowest law enforcement priority charter amendment, only to have it subsequently ignored by law enforcement, left the community distrusting its government.
“Four years ago we worked really hard to pass this lowest law enforcement. People came out who had never been involved,” Christie said. “Now people have crawled back into their shells. They say it’s no use.”
Just about all the county’s problems could be solved, Christie said, through what she calls “ganja-nomics.”
That’s the concept of forming an economic system based on cannabis.
Cannabis can be used for fuel and fiber and to create an agronomic lifestyle that reduces homelessness. Poverty would decrease and if marijuana were decriminalized, crime would go down, reducing the need for a costly judiciary, police force and prisons, she said.
“We are an agricultural island. People want to farm here,” she said.
An island economy dominated by cannabis would also attract tourists who would come to see how beautiful the island is and enjoy its agricultural lifestyle, she said.
Christie said the county’s waste problem could be addressed by rewarding people for recycling. The landfills could be mined for recyclables by looking to the private sector, she said.
“Let’s buy that land that’s next to the (Hilo) landfill,” Christie said. “Let’s ask for the most motivated people to come forward with their ideas.”
The county could get a better handle on its budget under a ganja-nomics system, Christie said.
“Bigger government, smaller government, it won’t make a difference. What will make a difference is changing the police presence, and the people need to speak up,” she said. “There will be less government jobs, less police force because we’re going to put these priorities in place.”
And cannabis is also the answer to lower energy costs, Christie said. She said oils from cannabis burn efficiently, making a clean feedstock for biofuel plants as close as the nearest farm.
