Ben Lowenthal: Opponents of legal cannabis say they want to ‘keep Hawaii, Hawaii.’ Which Hawaii are they talking about?

The statutes that govern how people grow, use, and transport a particular plant for medical purposes call it cannabis. That’s because the Legislature in 2017 noted the different terms and determined that the word “marijuana” “has no scientific basis but carries harmful implications rooted in racial stereotypes from the early 1900s, when cannabis use was criminalized for the first time in the United States.’

But “marijuana” is still the name preferred by those who call it a “gateway drug” over harder narcotics, and the name still used in parts of our criminal code.

Criminal law prohibits the possession and distribution of cannabis for purposes other than medical purposes.

It is a crime to have an ounce. Selling a joint in or near a public park is still a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. And unregulated operations involving more than 100 plants, or growing 25 plants or more on someone else’s land without permission, is a Class A misdemeanor that exposes people to up to 20 years in prison or 10 years of probation.

That hasn’t changed. Even when Governor David Ige took the modest step of “decriminalizing” cannabis for people using up to 3 grams in 2019, the pejorative remained in the statute. It is still a criminal ‘offence’, still punishable by a fine of up to $130, and it is still an ‘offence against public health and morals’.

This year it could have been different. A Senate bill that sought to regulate “all aspects of the cannabis plant” by legalizing its adult use, imposing a sales tax, and restricting its use for traffic violations passed the Senate and transferred to the House of Representatives.

The bill caused a loud outcry of opposition from the usual suspects. Police chiefs from every province and every provincial prosecutor’s office lined up against legalization. Honolulu’s top prosecutor, Steve Alm, appeared to lead the public opposition and did not mince his words.

In his written testimony, during interviews and at meetings, Alm argued that legalization would have a negative impact on tourism and paraphrased the comments of the president of a Japanese tourism agency by stating that “Japanese tourists will not come to Hawaii anymore.”

But the opposition didn’t work – at least not at first. Despite an increasing number of no votes from a bipartisan group of Democrats and some Republicans, the bill moved forward.

That prompted a protest against the bill in February. Speakers included police chiefs, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and former Governor Linda Lingle, who all united against legalization.

They adopted an old slogan from a Honolulu City Council campaign a few years ago that aimed to educate tourists about the economy, culture and environment. The words “Keep Hawaii, Hawaii” were printed on colorful signs placed in front of the stage. It was reiterated in the speeches and written testimonies urging lawmakers to maintain the status quo.

It’s a disturbing slogan. I’m still not sure what it really means.

Sure, the argument is that it’s meant to prevent large, corporate cannabis producers from locating here, but why target them? How is that different from any other industry that sells cigarettes, vapes, booze and red meat? Should the police oppose this?

Is this even new to Hawaii? These islands have a long history of large companies and entities, whether sugar and pineapple companies, hotel chains, and even the US military, coming here and influencing the economy.

So what exactly does it mean to “keep Hawaii, Hawaii” by preventing legalization?

I grew up on Maui, almost 20 miles from Wailuku. Aside from the Hana Highway, most of the roads of my youth were narrow, winding, and often unpaved. My classmates, friends and neighbors lived in gorges, under dense bushes and surrounded by meadows.

At my primary school we were talking about the helicopters.

They flew low enough to shake people’s houses. They were loud enough to scare animals and babies. These helicopters were part of ‘Operation Green Harvest’. Armed, militarized police officers patrolled the airspace above our homes, flying low enough to search for cannabis. Those programs are now gone. Their popularity declined around the turn of the century.

Is that the Hawaii we are trying to preserve?

Then there is the ACLU’s testimony in support of the bill. It cites the Office of Hawaiian Affairs report on the disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in our prison system. The ACLU noted that Native Hawaiians are “more likely to go to prison for drug offenses than people of other races or ethnicities.” What about that Hawaii thing? Should we keep it that way?

Police still use the odor of what they call marijuana as the basis for what criminal lawyers call a warrantless arrest. They use it as an excuse to seize your car, search your pockets and question you about it. Is that Hawaii worth preserving?

Evidently.

Ultimately, the bill died. Despite projected revenues of $4.4 million in 2026 and $17 million in 2027, Maui Representative Kyle Yamashita halted further deliberation on the bill because the timing was not right and we must “meet the challenges of managing the largest wildfire recovery efforts in the Hawaiian territories. history.”

The slogan still bothers me. The rhetoric and attitude didn’t remind me of Hawaii at all. When I found out the bill died, I thought of Merle Haggard’s 1969 country hit, “Okie from Muskogee.” The opening verse went like this:

“We don’t smoke marijuana in Muskogee.

We don’t make trips with LSD.

We don’t burn draft cards on Main Street.

We like to live well and be free.’

Despite the irony of that last line, the song goes on to scold hippies and proudly “wave Old Glory at the courthouse.” It’s an anthem for the right-wing conservatives who fueled the War on Drugs.

The next time lawmakers try to legalize cannabis, the opposition should use the song and tinker with their slogan: Keep Hawaii, Muskogee.