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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US HI: Hearing To Weigh Religion And Pot
ccguide Wednesday 02 Jan 2002 Pubdate: Tue, 01 Jan 2002 Source: Hawaii-Tribune Herald (HI) Copyright: 2002 Hawaii Tribune Herald Contact: Website: http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/185 Author: Hunter Bishop, Tribune-Herald Discuss: this item on the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i's action oriented email list. Sign up at http://www.dpfhi.org/ Bookmarks: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Dennis+Shields http://www.mapinc.org/spirit.htm (Spiritual or Sacramental) HEARING TO WEIGH RELIGION AND POT Police will arrest anyone claiming to use marijuana as a religious sacrament and let the courts decide whether the user is exempt from state law prohibiting use of the psychoactive herb. That proposed rule will be the primary focus of a Police Department hearing Thursday in Kona, the second public hearing on proposed rules governing marijuana reconnaissance and eradication missions, and medical marijuana investigations, in Hawaii County. In March the Hawaii County Council accepted a federal marijuana eradication grant but imposed several conditions on the Police Department. One was that the department had to draft rules that would protect those using marijuana under constitutional or other legal protections. The Police Department held its first hearing on the proposed rules in Hilo in August, and critics pointed out that the rules failed to address potential religious use of marijuana. A new draft of the rules was prepared for Thursday's hearing. Marijuana advocates maintain that freedom of religion permits the use of marijuana in churches that advocate its use as a sacrament. A Kona man was convicted of marijuana possession in 1996 after failing to demonstrate that his religious use of marijuana was a required sacrament of the church. The Rev. Dennis Shields, an ordained minister of the Religion of Jesus Church, believes the use of marijuana by church members, now required as a sacrament, is protected by the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom. A Puna man, the Rev. Jonathan Adler, also ordained by the Religion of Jesus Church, intends to use the religious defense against marijuana charges at his trial in Third Circuit Court later this month. But under the rules proposed by police, neither man would be exempt from arrest and prosecution unless the state Legislature changes the law. Police would still arrest anyone claiming the religious exemption, but they would have to document the suspect's religious claims and include them in the police report of the arrest that would then go to prosecutors and court. Police maintain that marijuana possession and use violate state law except for qualified medical marijuana users, and that it should not be up to police to decide the constitutional and other legal issues surrounding religious use of marijuana. The state Legislature has passed a law allowing medical use of marijuana, and the proposed rules would require police to check on the validity of a person's claim to a medical exemption before making an arrest or issuing a search warrant. The proposed rules will require the signature of Mayor Harry Kim before they take effect. The Police Department hearing will start at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Kona police station, 74 - 5221 Queen Kaahumanu Highway. Those who want to present oral testimony should register before the hearing convenes. Those who are unable to attend may submit written comments to the Hawaii County Police Department, 349 Kapiolani St., Hilo, 96720. Copies of the proposed rules are available at the Hilo police station, 961 - 2258, the Kona police station, 326 - 4240, and the office of Councilman Gary Safarik, 961 - 8267, in the County Building. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
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