A bill to increase the amount of marijuana a person can possess before facing stiff criminal penalties failed 15-9 in the Hawaii Senate on Monday.
It was the second defeat of a measure at the Legislature this session to allow more people to possess pot. A bill to allow recreational use of marijuana for people 21 years and older died earlier this month.
The reasons for shelving Senate Bill 2487, the decriminalization measure, were similar to Senate Bill 3335, the recreational marijuana bill. Opponents said more marijuana would end up in the hands of youth, it would discourage Asian tourists from visiting, it would not stop black market sales and it would lead to more automobile accidents.
Hawaii senators by a show of hands indicated their opposition to legislation expanding the state’s marijuana decriminalization law on Tuesday. (Screenshot/2024)
Passage of the bill would send a message “to our keiki and the community that this drug is harmless — it is not,” said Sen. Sharon Moriwaki, whose district includes Waikiki. “It is a threat to our No. 1 industry, tourism.”
Even though medical marijuana is legal in Hawaii and nearly half of all states have moved to legalize the drug, Moriwaki said marijuana is a public health threat.
“In fact, as more data come in, we learn cannabis is even more dangerous to the public health and safety than tobacco or alcohol use,” she said. That is in part because marijuana today has a higher THC content and is often laced with other drugs, she said.
In 2019 Hawaii decriminalized possessing small amounts of marijuana. Instead of being subject to a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, people caught with 3 grams of cannabis face a $130 fine, although the law is rarely enforced.
In addition to increasing the amount of cannabis a person could hold from 3 grams to 1 ounce, SB 2487 would have lowered the fee for possession to $25. And smoking marijuana in a public place would be a violation under the offense of promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree.
In its justification for approving the bill, a House committee report said that arrest for possession of small amounts of marijuana or related paraphernalia “is one of the most common points of entry into the criminal justice system.” Changing the law would ensure that funds and resources are allocated to more serious drug offenses.
SB 2487 was supported by the Hawaii Public Defender’s Office, the ACLU of Hawaii, the Democratic Party of Hawaii and the Hawaii Public Health Institute.
But opponents included the Attorney General’s Office, the Honolulu Police Department and the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office.
The prosecutor, Steve Alm, and Gene Ward, a House Republican, both called SB 2487 a “de facto” legalization bill.
The House approved SB 2487 on April 5, but 18 of the 51 members voted against it. Senators quickly mobilized against it, in part because the House rejected SB 3335.
“The Senate sent a very good, reasonable recreational legalization bill with guardrails over to the other chamber,” said Sen. Angus McKelvey. He warned that the House bill could “explode” the black market, “thereby undercutting and creating all the safety hazards that the bill we sent over should have addressed.”
The Senate vote came just before senators unanimously approved Senate Bill 2706, which would set up a Clean Slate Expungement Task Force to draft legislation for a state-led program that would clear some criminal records. The bill does not mention marijuana-related offenses but they are expected to be included in the work of the task force.
SB 2706 previously cleared the House and now heads to the desk of Gov. Josh Green for his consideration.
Another expungement measure, House Bill 1595, would set up a pilot program specifically centered on marijuana. Authors of the bill wrote that they recognize that arrest records can “adversely affect a person’s financial security and limit their ability to obtain housing, employment or a professional license.”
HB 1595 has also been sent to the governor, who has until June 25 to signal his intent on that measure and others.
But the Legislature also approved an expungement pilot program for cannabis possession. Read More