STAND. COM. REP. NO. 799

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: S.B. No. 128

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 128 entitled:

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

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to transfer the administration of the medical marijuana program from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health.

Specifically, the bill:

(1) Establishes a procedure to add the enumerated debilitating medical conditions that qualify an individual to use medical marijuana by creating a committee to consider additional debilitating medical conditions;

(2) Adds a definition of "registration" and amends the definitions of "adequate supply", "debilitating medical condition", and written certification";

(3) Provides that a qualifying patient is permitted to use medical marijuana immediately after certain requirements are met;

(4) Adds to existing prohibited uses the use of medical marijuana while using stationary heavy equipment;

(5) Clarifies that a physician, in a written certification, is required to attest that an individual has one of the qualifying debilitating medical conditions, but is prohibited from including the qualifying patient's diagnosis; and

(6) Requires the Department of Health to provide the registration form to the public by posting the form on the Department's website and by sending a copy by mail to any person requesting a registration form.

Your Committee finds that the medical marijuana program would be more logically placed within a department that has experience in working with health programs and patients, rather than within a law enforcement agency, which has a familiarity with criminals and correctional facilities. A number of other states that authorize use of medical marijuana have placed their programs in their health departments. There are anecdotal reports that physicians are reluctant to certify qualifying patients and that individuals are reluctant to become registered users solely because the program currently is administered by the Department of Public Safety. Your Committee believes that a medical marijuana program should be viewed as a health program rather than a registry of "would-be" criminals and that its transfer to the Department of Health will further that goal.

Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this measure by moving the new provisions added to the definition "written certification" to another section of part IX of chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, since the proposed amendments were substantive provisions that were not appropriately placed in a definition. The prohibition against use of medical marijuana while using heavy equipment was amended to include both stationary and moving heavy equipment. Additional technical nonsubstantive amendments were made for the purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 128, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 128, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair