Letters | 4-11-15

Keep dispensary bill in original form

I am a 53-year-old medical marijuana patient on the Big Island. The basic House Bill 321 was great, now some of the changes in the HD1 and SD1 are very distressing to me and should be to you as well as all Hawaii residents. This is the good dispensary bill and we have to get it passed in its original version, because SB682 is insidious.

First off, it is obvious that the definition of “dispensary” has been changed by certain members of the Legislature being tempted from outside lobbyists who want to be the ones rewarded with precious licenses, and they are greedy and want control of more than one operation. Why else would the definition have changed to an “entity that holds a dispensary license and operates one or more cultivation sites, manufacturing sites, and retail dispensing locations.”

Please keep the licenses for only one thing each — dispensary, production center or cultivation site — and awarded to one person each to give as many Hawaii residents as possible an opportunity here.

Do not reward big, rich growers from the mainland or tobacco or pharmaceutical companies. The big, rich growers already make enough, and the tobacco and pharmaceutical companies have been killing people for decades — do not reward these entities by giving them Hawaii dispensary licenses.

Secondly, to own a dispensary, you should not need to be a licensed health care provider. That is discrimination plain and simple, as even the “lowliest” patient can grow and decide how to consume their own medicine for the last 15 years, the licensed health care provider is overkill and an impossible condition to meet for most anyone besides a licensed health care provider.

Thirdly, you as our Hawaii legislators know better than anyone that Hawaii needs jobs, taxes and income kept here at home and we have been waiting since the year 2000 for a dispensary bill. And the job opportunities need to be offered only to longtime Hawaii residents, and please consider them, medical patients, and cannabis felons be given top priority as we are the collective group of people who have suffered the most from the backwards marijuana laws, have paid the most in legal penalties. Again, please allow cannabis felons opportunity as they have already paid their dues to society.

Finally, do not insert language which gives away ownership of businesses that are desperately needed here in Hawaii — insert language that retains 100 percent Hawaii-owned into our long-awaited dispensary bill.

Sara Steiner

Pahoa