Hawaii lawmakers are very busy...

patting themselves on the back this week.

They’re celebrating finally decriminalizing cannabis in the state, and providing expungement for cannabis convictions. The truth is, this was the most pathetic, sorry excuse for justice reform one could imagine.

When this legislative session began I was so optimistic. Around a dozen different bills were introduced involving various levels of cannabis justice reform. Bills ranging from legalization with strict regulation similar to Oregon or California, to ones that would’ve put Hawaii at the forefront of the true cannabis freedom movement, including allowances for recreational home grows with peer to peer sales up to one ounce and no dispensary framework at all.

The legislation that eventually passed, HB1383, (linked below) started out as an amazing bill in my opinion. (As amazing as any group of people forcing their will violently on others could be.) I use the word amazing because, as it was originally written, it would have changed my life directly in a very positive way. The original version decriminalized ALL cannabis offenses, making them subject only to fines of varying degrees. It also called for expungements of all cannabis convictions and dropping of all pending cannabis related charges, changing them to fines instead.

I watched with diminishing hope, as week after week, these willfully ignorant people with power over my fate, shot down bill after bill until HB1383 was the last one standing. By this time it had been watered down to a much less broad reaching version, where many cannabis offenses were still serious felonies.

In a overwhelmingly Democrat congress,

in a state that likes to think of itself as one of the most progressive states in America, and as an attempt to save their collective AS#ES in the next election when 75% of their constituents wanted serious justice reform on this issue, they passed the final version of HB1383.

The version that they passed was the decriminalization of less than 3 grams. The fine for possession of up to 3g is $130. Expungements were for possession of 3 grams or less.

I submitted testimony for every cannabis hearing along the way and read all submitted testimony. Public arguments in favor of justice reform regarding cannabis laws outnumbered those in opposition by a large margin. The usual suspects in opposition were police departments, government agencies, and ignorant people still pushing Reefer Madness ideologies.

So really almost nothing has changed in Hawaii. After a roller coaster of ups and downs, of optimism and disappointment, police will still be violently abusing the freedoms of peaceful people through out the islands.
NO VICTIM
NO CRIME
#growyourown #knowyourfarmer
✌️💚 & #FTP

https://legiscan.com/HI/bill/HB1383/2019