Letters | 9-27-15

Let’s question marijuana eradication efforts

The following is an open letter to Hawaii Police Chief Harry Kubojiri:

Since the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on lowest law enforcement, our police, with federal, state and county blessing, feel they should fly around — three or four helicopters at a time hovering low over medical cannabis grow addresses — with a large white van and five officers, or the following day, several cars with eight police officers. I thought Chief Harry Kubojiri said they don’t do compliance checks.

I think there are no provisions in the statutes. To me and other folks, this looks like retaliation toward certain medical patients and cannabis activists, pure and simple. Not only that, by hovering over people’s land, law enforcement is notifying the surrounding area of a private person’s medical grow site, making it known to possible thieves for miles around.

Cannabis is one of the safest known plants in the world, recognized by the Drug Enforcement Agency itself, safe for children and old people, no deaths related, medically accepted in almost half of our 50 states. But, no, Hawaii’s own limited resources are being wasted, big time on looking for weed, while we have murderers, rapists, crack houses, vehicle thefts, robberies, burglaries, assaults and the adult use of “ice” is now double what it was a few years back.

Cannabis has no victim, unless you count the government who makes the laws and and prison industrial complex (most housing nonviolent drug users). The prisons will not be necessary as lawmakers realize how much harm they have inflicted on the population. Child use has lowered in legalized and medical state.

All registered medical cannabis patients and interested individuals are encouraged to join in this dialog. These are your freedoms at stake. Legislators and police need to be fiscally responsible using all funds and government grants for solving or preventing real crimes.

Sara Steiner

Pahoa