STAND. COM. REP. NO. 701-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 2206

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2206 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of the bill is to:

(1) Amend the law regulating chemical precursors of controlled substances by requiring reporting of certain data relating to transactions in specific chemicals;

(2) Establish a procedure for adding to the list of regulated chemicals; and

(3) Authorize additional penalties for violations relating to precursor chemicals.

The Department of Public Safety and Honolulu Police Department testified in support of this bill. The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, Legislative Information Services of Hawaii, and Hawaii Food Industry Association opposed this measure. Orphan Medical provided comments.

Your Committee finds that:

(1) Controls on substances must not be overburdensome to commercial enterprise;

(2) Penalties and enforcement provisions must be reasonable; and

(3) Medical gamma hydroxybutyric acid has a legitimate pharmaceutical use that must be protected from misuse as an illicit drug.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Deleting the burdensome sales, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements regarding the sale of specific chemicals and deleting related new penalties;

(2) Inserting provisions to make medical gamma hydroxybutyric acid a schedule 3 depressant and making conforming amendments to the definition of "dangerous and harmful drugs" so as to make nonmedical use of gama hydroxybutyric acid an appropriately severe crime;

(3) Inserting an exemption from chapter 91 for the designation process of list 1 and list 2 chemicals;

(4) Deleting the provisions adding sales, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements for the sale of the liquid or solid dosage form of certain substances; and

(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2206, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2206, H.D. 1.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,

 

____________________________

ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair