STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1725

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

 

RE:   H.R. No. 235

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services & Housing, to which was referred H.R. No. 235 entitled:

 

"HOUSE RESOLUTION REQUESTING AN AUDIT OF THE HAWAII STATE QUEST PROGRAM TO EVALUATE ITS CURRENT PERFORMANCE IN STABILIZING HEALTH CARE COSTS AND EXPANDING ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN HAWAII,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this Resolution is to request the Auditor to perform an audit of QUEST to evaluate its current performance in stabilizing health care costs and expanding access to health care services.

 

     The Department of Human Services offered comments regarding this Resolution.

 

     Your Committees find that despite a United States Supreme Court decision that effectively bans the possession and use of marijuana for any purposes, including medical use, the reality remains that many patients in the State, particularly on the island of Maui, rely on the use of marijuana to alleviate their pain and suffering that cannot be addressed in any other way.

 

     Accordingly, your Committees have amended this Resolution by removing its title and contents and replacing it with those of House Concurrent Resolution No. 10 (2007).  As amended, this Resolution strongly urges the Mayor and the County Council of Maui to implement various measures regarding medical marijuana as follows:

 

     (1)  Develop a Maui County Family Farmer Medical Marijuana Regulation and Revenue Program to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana for adult use;

 

     (2)  Under the program:

 

         (A)  License qualified family farmers in designated agricultural zones to produce marijuana and allow each licensed family farmer to produce marijuana for up to two hundred qualifying patients;

 

         (B)  Create an allotment system allowing agriculturally zoned family farmers on the island of Maui to supply the medical marijuana needs of Maui by requiring five-year organic farm plans based on at least two organic crops, the first of which shall be marijuana and the second of which shall be an organic vegetables crop; and

 

         (C)  Create a community oversight committee to oversee the implementation of the program;

 

     (3)  Direct the Maui County Police Department to make investigation, citation, and arrest for private adult medical marijuana offenses the lowest law enforcement priority; and

 

(4)  Advocate for legislative change to further legalize medical use of marijuana at the state and the federal levels.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services & Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.R. No. 235, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Legislative Management, in the form attached hereto as H.R. No. 235, H.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services & Housing,

 

 

____________________________

KARL RHOADS, Acting Chair & Vice Chair

 

____________________________

JOHN MIZUNO, Acting Chair & Vice Chair