Top cops join anti-pot rally

Law enforcement officers joined community groups and individuals at a rally at the state Capitol on Wednesday to show their opposition to a bill that would decriminalize possession of up to 20 grams of marijuana.

Senate Bill 472 has won approval from the state Senate and is making its way through the House. April 8 is the deadline for a vote on final passage in the House.

Attending the rally were about 200 people, roughly three-fourths of whom wore the dark blue uniforms of Hawaii police officers. Among them were the police chiefs of the Hono­lulu, Hawaii and Maui counties.

Alan Shinn, executive director of the Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii, coordinated the rally under the umbrella of the newly formed Hawaii SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) Project.

"We’ve got some momentum here and we want to discuss marijuana policy issues in a different way if we can," Shinn said, saying not enough exposure has been given to marijuana’s harms during the current debate.

After the rally, Shinn said he is not necessarily opposed to decriminalizing marijuana, but believes any such legislation needs to be accompanied by stricter prevention, intervention and treatment provisions.

State Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa, Whitmore, Poamoho), who also opposes the bill, showed reporters a snack-size plastic bag holding catnip rolled into 47 cigarettes to display what 20 grams of pot would look like.

Under the latest version the House approved earlier this month, the bill calls for reducing the penalty for adults found guilty of possessing up to 20 grams to a civil fine of up to $100. It would keep possession by a juvenile a petty misdemeanor criminal offense while also raising the stakes by suspending their driver’s licenses.

House Judiciary Chairman Karl Rhoads (D, Chinatown, Palama) said he believes the bill has the votes to pass the House but expects it to be close.

Rhoads said he doesn’t think the bill is a major change from the current law because he does not believe those hit with a criminal charge for a first offense get a significantly higher penalty, if at all, under existing law. "Symbolically it’s important," he said.

Pamela Lichty, president of the Drug Policy Action Group, said being convicted under the current law leaves a criminal record. "We’ve been trying the law enforcement approach to this now for way more than 30 years and it hasn’t really worked," Lichty said.

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Correction: State Rep. Marcus Oshiro displayed a plastic bag holding catnip rolled into 47 cigarettes to display what 20 grams of pot looks like. An earlier version of this story said the bag contained 17 cigarettes.