Hawaii's Medical Cannabis Day is June 14th calling for celebration but really?
This appears to be something worth sharing. After 21 years, the Hawaii medical cannabis situation has some good points and cannabis has helped so many people/patients to live, have better health and avoid medications that are less helpful. However, the system is worse than broken. It's not broken, its designed poorly and unfairly benefits non-patients and omits the people who built Hawaii's cannabis culture and its world famous cannabis. Thankfully, the "authorities" seem to have their priorities for serving the public in better order now and are properly focused on other real crimes than these "grey areas" about where to actually get legal cannabis plants and seeds to plant and grow for medical patients. Trust me, patients are growing medical cannabis plants and so are the dispensaries but where did they get the seeds or 'cut only' cultivars? That question is a sticky wicket to say the least. Who says patients cant share seeds and clones? And why? There's a giant 'pink elephant' in the room as they say. Do you see the elephant? Everybody does but we all pretend we don't. This issue among others is in the Hawaii courts as we speak. More lawsuits are expected. But what is actually a crime is the monopoly of the legal medical cannabis market by a select and very exclusive few, who in fact are not even medical cannabis patients but they can grow and sell but you and I cannot. And remember, it's Federally still illegal (perhaps not after this Congress completes its session) so our State is complicit in facilitating an organized illegal enterprise for a hand selected few individuals. Can anybody say RICCO? This issue is still in the federal court on appeal (see Ruggles v. State of Hawaii) We are very liberal in our attitudes towards cannabis is general here in Hawaii. We actually pride ourselves on this. Cannabis is and has been our number one crop for decades (another pink elephant) and it will be even bigger as a crop in world markets in the ever approaching future. In fact, Hawaii's reputation for having the best agricultural products in the world precedes its reputation for having the world's finest cannabis. The term "Maui Wowee" is the most common/recognized term used worldwide for cannabis...EVER. It's our destiny, and to ignore or balk at it is disingenuous at best and at worst is denying the people of Hawaii their rightful opportunity to create a true pakalolo paradise and have the greatest economy ever known in the islands. This is THE answer to so many problems/challenges is Hawaii today such as crime, drugs, homelessness, our dependency on government jobs and social services. Free the plant. To keep it wrapped up in legal issues, controlled by a few and severely restricted or prohibited to the rest is in fact criminal and morally indefensible. Medical Cannabis Day is a nice sentiment. everybody can get together and congratulate themselves and boast great advances. It will be nice to see the headlines in the newspaper and T.V. about this day. People who need to get together and share ideas and air our grievances is a good thing and much over due. But the system is and has been hurting the patients and the people of Hawaii for 21 years now. Enough is enough. It's time to do the right thing, the righteous thing... the Pono thing! It's time to create a new way because the Hawaii Medical Cannabis program/laws/and players are not right. there will be a right time to celebrate but 21 years later the system only serves the few.
J. Lamoore
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