Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Two medical marijuana patients arrested at Hilo International Airport had their drug possession charges dismissed Wednesday by District Court Judge Barbara Takase.
The ruling was cheered by members of the marijuana advocacy group Friends for Justice, who attended the hearing in a show of support. Supporters hope the ruling will set a precedent for other medical marijuana cases on the Big Island, including one to be heard Jan. 20 in Kona by District Court Judge Joseph Florendo.
But the two Big Island plaintiffs aren't out of the woods yet.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Son said after the hearing that he is considering appealing the ruling. Takase set a Jan. 12 deadline for appeals.
"I think it's likely," Son said when asked if the state will appeal.
It's not known what laws or facts Takase used to reach her written ruling of dismissal because she did not read it in the courtroom. A clerk in the records department said the court's computer system does not allow access to public records such as rulings while court is in session. It could take more than a week before the ruling is available, the clerk said.
Donna Goldsworthy, a nurse and well-known Red Cross volunteer, and the other defendant, Alan R. Lee, were not in the courtroom.
Belinda Hill, the public defender representing Goldsworthy and Lee, filed motions to dismiss the charges, although both defendants signed stipulations admitting they were in possession of marijuana.
Son, on the other side of the case, conceded in the stipulation the two had valid medical marijuana certificates, known as "blue cards," when they were charged and their marijuana confiscated.
The Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency that screens passengers at airports, doesn't arrest passengers on drug charges, but detains them and turns them over to local law enforcement.
Advocate Matt Rifkin, a member of the Medical Cannabis Working Group set up by the state Legislature, said medical marijuana patients often report problems when they attempt to board planes for interisland travel. He said at least 5,000 of the approximately 8,000 registered medical marijuana users in the state live on the Big Island. They often need to travel to Honolulu for medical care, he said.
"I think this happens a fair bit, but people just pay the fine and be done with it," Rifkin said.
Goldsworthy was in a wheelchair with a broken leg when detained at the Hilo airport Dec. 12, 2008, after a pat-down search found 10.2 grams of marijuana in a plastic bag in her waistband, according to the stipulation. Lee was carrying 2.97 ounces in his checked-in luggage when he was stopped Nov. 6.
State law allows registered medical-marijuana patients to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana. The patients aren't allowed to use the pakalolo in a public setting but "transportation of marijuana for medical use is specifically protected," according to a manual put out by the state Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: hawaiitribune-herald.com
Author: Nancy Cook Lauer
Copyright: 2010 Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Contact: Hawaii Tribune-Herald :: Hilo, Hawaii > Contact
Website: Hawaii Tribune-Herald :: Hilo, Hawaii > Archives > Local News > Charges are dropped vs. pot patients
The ruling was cheered by members of the marijuana advocacy group Friends for Justice, who attended the hearing in a show of support. Supporters hope the ruling will set a precedent for other medical marijuana cases on the Big Island, including one to be heard Jan. 20 in Kona by District Court Judge Joseph Florendo.
But the two Big Island plaintiffs aren't out of the woods yet.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Son said after the hearing that he is considering appealing the ruling. Takase set a Jan. 12 deadline for appeals.
"I think it's likely," Son said when asked if the state will appeal.
It's not known what laws or facts Takase used to reach her written ruling of dismissal because she did not read it in the courtroom. A clerk in the records department said the court's computer system does not allow access to public records such as rulings while court is in session. It could take more than a week before the ruling is available, the clerk said.
Donna Goldsworthy, a nurse and well-known Red Cross volunteer, and the other defendant, Alan R. Lee, were not in the courtroom.
Belinda Hill, the public defender representing Goldsworthy and Lee, filed motions to dismiss the charges, although both defendants signed stipulations admitting they were in possession of marijuana.
Son, on the other side of the case, conceded in the stipulation the two had valid medical marijuana certificates, known as "blue cards," when they were charged and their marijuana confiscated.
The Transportation Security Administration, the federal agency that screens passengers at airports, doesn't arrest passengers on drug charges, but detains them and turns them over to local law enforcement.
Advocate Matt Rifkin, a member of the Medical Cannabis Working Group set up by the state Legislature, said medical marijuana patients often report problems when they attempt to board planes for interisland travel. He said at least 5,000 of the approximately 8,000 registered medical marijuana users in the state live on the Big Island. They often need to travel to Honolulu for medical care, he said.
"I think this happens a fair bit, but people just pay the fine and be done with it," Rifkin said.
Goldsworthy was in a wheelchair with a broken leg when detained at the Hilo airport Dec. 12, 2008, after a pat-down search found 10.2 grams of marijuana in a plastic bag in her waistband, according to the stipulation. Lee was carrying 2.97 ounces in his checked-in luggage when he was stopped Nov. 6.
State law allows registered medical-marijuana patients to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana. The patients aren't allowed to use the pakalolo in a public setting but "transportation of marijuana for medical use is specifically protected," according to a manual put out by the state Department of Public Safety Narcotics Enforcement Division.
NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: hawaiitribune-herald.com
Author: Nancy Cook Lauer
Copyright: 2010 Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Contact: Hawaii Tribune-Herald :: Hilo, Hawaii > Contact
Website: Hawaii Tribune-Herald :: Hilo, Hawaii > Archives > Local News > Charges are dropped vs. pot patients
