Expanded medical marijuana bill is among 11 potential vetoes

Gov. David Ige is considering vetoing 11 bills passed by lawmakers this session, including a measure that would authorize the use of medical marijuana to treat drug addiction; a bill that would create minimum, statewide standards for law enforcement officers; and a bill that would allow motorcycles to drive in designated shoulder lanes. The last measure Ige said was too dangerous, given that shoulders are used by stopped and emergency vehicles, as well as bicyclists.

Monday was the deadline for Ige to notify the Legislature of any bills he plans to veto by the final deadline of July 10. Bills that he has not signed or vetoed by that date will become law without his signature.

House Speaker Scott Saiki said members of the majority caucus would meet today to review Ige’s list of bills. If lawmakers do decide to try to override any vetoed bills, a special session could be called in July when the Senate is already planning to be in session to review judicial nominations.

On Ige’s chopping block is Senate Bill 2407, which would add drug addiction and withdrawal symptoms to the long list of conditions for which medical marijuana can be prescribed. The bill singles out cannabis for use in treating opioid addiction, which has reached alarming levels throughout the country.

Hawaii law currently allows cannabis to be prescribed for cancer, glau­coma, lupus, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV or AIDS. It also can be prescribed for the treatment of a wide range of symptoms such as severe pain, nausea and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ige’s potential veto is a rare instance of political pushback against state legislators enshrining into law medical conditions that can be treated by cannabis, which remains illegal under federal law.

Ige noted that Hawaii’s medical marijuana law provides for a panel of experts to identify different conditions that could benefit from the use of medical marijuana, in citing his reasons for vetoing the bill. “We believe that that should be the process — if both opioid addiction and treatment and substance abuse is a valid use for medical marijuana, then it should go through that professional panel,” he told reporters.

The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, which seeks to reform drug laws, criticized the move, saying that the Health Department’s review panel has been passive when it comes to evaluating conditions that could be treated with cannabis, choosing to evaluate submitted petitions rather than proposing new conditions to be added.

Ige said he also intends to veto a bill that would create a Law Enforcement Standards Board. Hawaii is the only state in the country that doesn’t have such a board and one of only a handful of states that does not establish minimum standards required to be a police officer, according to House Bill 2071.

The bill has been supported by advocates of police reform but strongly opposed by the county police departments.

“The main concern that I heard from every single police chief is that they believe that they know what it is that they are pursuing. And clearly they don’t believe that a statewide board would add any value to what they’re doing in each of the counties,” Ige said.

Ige also intends to veto:

>> Senate Bill 48: The bill would merge the Hawaii Strategic Development Corp. and Hawaii Technology Development Corp. into the Hawaii Innovation, Technology and Research Corp.

Ige said the measure would create operational issues and disrupt the core functions of the HTDC, including eliminating eight permanent and temporary positions.

However, House Finance Chairwoman Sylvia Luke said that the Legislature eliminated funding only for positions that were vacant. She said if the governor vetoes the bill, HTDC actually may have to lay off employees because its budget is now tied to the measure.

>> Senate Bill 2919: The bill would establish a pilot program to allow the public library system to lease out state land for the purpose of generating revenue.

Ige said the state library system does not have the resources and expertise to undertake leasing of public lands for income-generating purposes. Further, he said such lands should be returned to the Department of Land and Natural Resources if they are not in use.

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said the purpose of the measure was to help the state’s ailing public libraries by allowing them, for example, to lease out space for a coffee shop.

“We have to start being more creative,” said Dela Cruz. “I understand that he is not the type of person to look at new ways of doing things, but we have to figure out ways to provide more resources to our departments without raising taxes.”

A full list of bills Ige intends to veto can be found at bit.ly/2K7UpHP.