HONOLULU (AP) — A legislator involved in a cocaine possession case in 1988 is part of a medical marijuana dispensary application.
HONOLULU (AP) — A legislator involved in a cocaine possession case in 1988 is part of a medical marijuana dispensary application.
Sen. J. Kalani English’s guilty plea on a charge of promoting a dangerous drug was deferred and the case later dismissed after he completed court requirements, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported (https://bit.ly/1SKSBBR).
English is a member of Maui-based Hawaii Medicinal Options, one of 59 companies applying for the health department’s eight marijuana dispensary licenses.
Interim rules by the State Department of Health say company members cannot have felony convictions or other disqualifying background factors.
English could not be reached for comment. In a 1996 statement to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, he said he was a student who made a mistake and was given a second chance.
The court required English to perform 50 hours of community service and complete two years of drug testing by the Adult Probation Division before his case was dismissed.
“The intent of this judicial process was to prevent what happened from ever being used against me,” the statement said. “The charges were dismissed, and I was not convicted of any crime.”
A health department official said in an email that it is inappropriate to discuss individual applicants.