[Editor’s Note: Cannabis is an incredibly powerful drug that has been used by millions throughout history around the world, and used my millions of Americans today. Cannabis might be beneficial. Cannabis might also be harmful and dangerous. A smart society would study such a substance. In 1970, however, Republican President Nixon criminalized cannabis, and classified cannabis as a Schedule I drug — NO RESEARCH ALLOWED. That’s not rational. Nixon used cannabis to infiltrate the rising Black Power movement and Vietnam anti-war protestors (Hippies). Nixon denied research to ensure cannabis could be used to subvert our democratic processes. Clearhealth Life works to legalize so research can be conducted. Americans have the right to know the scientific and medical truth about cannabis. Any who champion criminalization — intentionally or not — are racist and unscientific. Be better!]
Americans love and promote alcohol. In 2020-21, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, there were an average of about 488 deaths per day from excessive alcohol drinking, according to a new report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol is a leading cause of preventable death.
Drinking excessively can lead to deaths directly related to alcohol, such as alcoholic liver disease, alcohol poisoning, suicide by excessive alcohol use, crashes and falls, and fetal alcohol syndrome, among others. Deaths can also be partially attributable to excessive alcohol use, such as chronic hepatitis and certain cancers, heart disease and stroke.
CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
It’s farcical that we have so-called experts in our state cautioning against this move while having zero experience with legal cannabis. Twenty-four states have legalized recreational cannabis, which includes over half the population of the country. Some states have over a decade of experience with legal adult use.
Why do we hear so much local opposition based on theoretical fears, when not a single one of these 24 states have gone back on the decision? None are even considering reversing the decision. This simple, real-world fact settles the question for any reasonable person.
Russell Ruderman [source]
Let me introduce myself. I am Ko’olau of Kaua’i. Knowledge is power and the privileged social conservatives living in the Hawai’i islands refuse to debate me over the issue of cannabis legalization. They oppose cannabis reform, because ultimately, they are racists! Marihuana prohibition has been used to harm Black and Brown people for over 80 years. These extremists drink and promote alcohol, which is a terribly dangerous drug. I conclusively show herein that their justifications to continue cannabis criminalization are deceptions, half-truths and actual lies.
Many call Hawai’i the ALOHA state. Women can abort their developing babies. Men can have sex with other men. Society promotes alcohol, tolerates smoking tobacco and vaping nicotone. But wealthy White and Asian conservatives can’t stand cannabis (marihuana). “It’s a recreational drug used by Black people! YUCK !!!”
As my first act, I coronate Governor Josh Green as the “Compassionate One.” He’s a medical doctor — not a politician. His heart speaks truth. As the truth-teller of Hawai’i, I humbly bow to him and offer to wash his feet. That’s what Jesus would do.
Denby Fawcett is a dimwit. Although a veteran newspaper and television journalist, she demonstrated in her social editorial opposing cannabis that she is a fraud. She is a graduate of Columbia University and a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. She was inducted into the Associated Press Television Radio Association’s Hall of Fame for a lifetime of achievement.
One would think this privileged princess would strive to be kind and righteous toward other human beings. To the contrary, Denby is a hypocrite and Mean Girl. She smiles and pretends to be pono. She’s uninformed and cruel. Writing in Civil Beat, Denby incompetently and inartfully provided her reasoning to deny cannabis legalization. She is a dimwit; clearly not the brightest bulb in the bunch.
Conservative White sorority sisters like Denby say no to cannabis. They boast of lofty college degrees from prestigious universities and resumes of accomplishments. These are illusions. Rather than study, they spent their time sipping wines, cocktails, mai tais and sugary piña coladas. They are judgmental and hypocritical. They are intellectually and morally bankrupt.
Conservative White men with privilege in Hawai’i still demand penalties and jail time for cannabis consumers. Like disgusting Don Trump, they are insecure and weak males. They posture for relevance. Asian groups have tied their ponies to these racist people of yesteryear. Asians are some of America’s Best & Brightest. In Hawai’i, they bring shame to their culture.
Hawai’i Gov. Josh Green, however, a medical doctor, knows the scientific and medical truth. Compassionately, he has promised that he would approve cannabis for adult recreational use as a lesser evil than cocaine and meth. He wants to stop funding criminals, end the support for traffickers of cocaine, meth, fentanyl, and most insidiously, human beings. He is a bright light in the darkness of paradise.
“I also have some thoughts that marijuana might blunt the effect, if you will, of people on these heavy drugs, these horrible drugs, it is a relative sedative, people are far less violent, they are much hungrier. But they, aside from the snacking and stealing Cheetos, will probably do less harm.”
Hawai’i Governor Josh Green, MD
Denby pledged: If adults want to smoke marijuana, thatʻs fine with me.
Denby admits cannabis is “already easily obtainable.” Denby admits our current prohibition efforts have failed.
Denby Lies to People. “Nobody is hauled off to jail for having small amounts in a personal stash.” FALSE. A personal stash would exceed the 3 gram threshold. More than 3 grams, less than one ounce: 30 days in jail; $1,000 max fine. 1 oz to 1 lb: 1 year in jail; $2,000 max fine. More than 1 lb: 5 years; $10,000 max fine. [norml]
BUT Denby Denies Legalization for others: “In my view, it is never a good time to legalize pot, but of all times this is the worst to take on another controversial issue when the state is already staggering under so many seemingly unsolvable problems.”
Denby Encourages illegal Use. “If adults want to smoke marijuana, thatʻs fine with me.” BUT “it is never a good time to legalize pot.” Just break the law, Denby recommends.
Denby Lies to People: Hawai’i “allow[s] people 3 grams of weed or about six joints.” FALSE. Penalty of $130 fine for illegal use. The user must to court. Pay fines. Creates a criminal record in the broken justice system. Could lose their job. Mean Girl Denby misleads the public and users. Not really fine, is it? Denby is a cruel dimwit.
Denby Lies to People Again: To exceed that amount is a civil rather than a criminal violation and a fine, no jail time. FALSE. Again. More than 3 grams, less than one ounce: 30 days in jail; $1,000 max fine. 1 oz to 1 lb: 1 year in jail; $2,000 max fine. More than 1 lb: 5 years; $10,000 max fine. [norml]
Wait a minute, Denby said, “If adults want to smoke marijuana, thatʻs fine with me.” Well, people have to grow it illegally or obtain from black market. These supplies will exceed 3 gram limits. She’s encouraging illegal use, as well as illegal grow and distribution. She subjects residents of Hawai’i to possible jail time. Doesn’t that make her a Mean Girl?
On the other hand, Denby accepts alcohol use in society. If adults want to drink alcohol, thatʻs fine with me. Right? AND, it is a good time for alcohol to be legal, right?
Denby is okay with alcohol; claims people should be free to use cannabis, but turns them into a criminal and social pariahs for consuming. That’s a MEAN GIRL, folks!
Why The Self-Righteous Behavior?
Denby and her student council argue they are justified, “The children, of course!”
Denby et al conclusively admit marijuana is already available to children. Can get it around any school in Hawai’i. Criminals sell to anyone. Regulated businesses however sell to 21+ and Over only. If Denby truly cares about our keiki, she will join us to put cannabis behind a regulated dispensary model, and remove it from the hands of predators.
Attorney General Anne Lopez flip-flopped on her position on legalization, betraying the voters in Hawai’i. This sorority sister isn’t one who will make it to the Super Bowl of life. Life is risk. Life is complex and messy. When asked to be a leader in cannabis policy area, she cowardly chose to punt the football. The Attorney General’s Office hopes the representatives of the people will not legalize cannabis. 24 states have. AG Lopez prefers to continue the broken and failed status quo. Penalty flag, professional foul for incompetent procedure! 15 yards and loss of down.
“No effort to legalize adult-use cannabis, however carefully planned and well intentioned will be without problems and serious risks to public safety and public health.”
“I have spent my professional life with a focus on protecting the health and well-being of children. I am concerned that the cannabis today is stronger and more harmful to health that the marijuana of the 1960s and the dangers it poses to children and teenagers. If the Legislature legalizes it, it must have guardrails up to protect all the public not just children and teenagers.”
Anne Lopez, Attorney General Hawai’i
Alcohol presents major dangers to children. The sorority sisters do not call for prohibition. They tolerage commercials during the Super Bowl. They normalize alcohol in homes and at family events. Again, these are Mean Girls. Alcohol around children acceptable; cannabis around children DANGER.
Both should be legal or both should be illegal — if we are a just people. And none of us wants either alcohol or cannabis around children. Let’s have a united front and work together. Not behave as self-righteous fools. Our children do not respect this hypocrisy. They see through the posturing and racism. Our children and teens are laughing at these posers behind their backs. They do not respect the system. Officials have made them cynical and distrustful of authority.
Cannabis VS Alcohol Racism
White and Asian culture accepts and has normalized alcohol consumption. People of color, Black families and indigenous groups are more severely harmed by marijuana prohibition. This institutional racism must be ended. Remember, Denby pledged: If adults want to smoke marijuana, thatʻs fine with me. Privileged White women are punishing people of color. Denby should be a better person than this.
Cannabis Revenue from Legal Sales
Looking at New Mexico through December 2023, similar population size of 2.1M with large indigenous communities, the state legalized in April 2022, and has now returned total revenue of $608.4 million — or about $30 million per month — and $27 million in general fund tax revenues in just first year.
Denby claims, “Hawaii is already sinking under major problems — chief among them are residents leaving the state in droves, the painful aftermath of the fire that destroyed most of Lahaina, a lack of reasonably priced housing, crime, drugs and homelessness.” More revenue and innovation would help!
Cannabis is easily available. Residents who use do so illegally now. This means some $30 million per month is funneling to criminals in the black market. They use these resources to support trafficking in meth, fentanyl, cocaine, as well as human beings.
Denby is fatalistic — rather than a problem solver. Hawai’i is not sinking. The Aloha state offers much greatness to the world, but the continued funding of criminals is not helpful. Turn this negative underground system into a positive stream of revenue. Workers in the cannabis industry make 10% – 20% more than their peers. Legal cannabis sales fuel small businesses growth and innovation.
Denby supports a system that channels money to criminals rather than legal business operations and government tax coffers. That’s why she’s a dimwit. Shameful, isn’t it?
Hard To Prove Impairment
Denby Again Lies to the Public. “My third concern is Hawaiiʻs police departments currently have no way to test drivers they suspect are under the influence of drugs. DUI breathalyzer tests are only for alcohol impairment.” There are no known breathalyzers, but some states measure THC levels in blood. Hawai’i law enforcement however says observation of the suspected user is the best indicator of impairment. Remember, UH football quarterback, Colt “Cannabis King” Brennan, smoked pakalolo before every game. He was “legally” high. Apparently did not impair [SEE: Hawaii’s Greatest QB Cannabis King Colt Brennan and NFL $1,000,000 Challenge]
Too Much Risk. Impossible for Our Officials.
24 states have legalized. Canada is legal. Mexico is legal. The senior people who manage Hawai’i NO CAN figure out how to administrate a legal cannabis market in the Aloha state. What? Hawaii’s medical cannabis dispensary and regulatory system operates efficiently, professionally and smoothly in paradise. One of best in nation. Frankly, it appears the current cadre of kooks isn’t competent. Time for some new people to take the reins. The people CAN ! Enough of these NO CAN privileged officials.
SEE: Attorney General Anne Lopez Betrays People of Hawai’i
“The bottom line is this is a risk we just can’t take. We have big issues here to solve and this would make those big issues almost impossible to solve,” former Gov. Linda Lingle said last week. She’s Republican and retired. Like Republicans at the national level, they are unable to develop coherent policy for our complex world. Risk scares those of limited intellect. Please take a seat in the back.
If you believe you can or believe you cannot, you are correct.
John Wooden
Lingle was joined by county police chiefs, prosecutors, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and health advocates, who spoke against making cannabis legal. Pro-cannabis reformists were not invited. Lingle and the old ones are afraid to stand toe-to-toe with people like me.
Keep Hawai’i Hawai’i. Keep Hawai’i White and Asian
Cannabis opposition forces leave a sour smell in our ‘Ohana. Denby and others claim to champion personal freedom, “If adults want to smoke marijuana, thatʻs fine with me.” Yet this uneducated minority of White and Asian officials impose their morality on a large population of color. Native Hawaiians use cannabis. It is part of indigenous culture.
Police chiefs from all four counties joined Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Prosecutor Steve Alm to speak out against the measure. They have been arresting, incarcerating and punishing Black families, Kanaka Maoli and people of color disproportionately for generations.
There are many challenges facing Hawai’i. Cannabis legalization and reform allows government officials to focus on meth, fentanyl, cocaine, opioids, and human trafficking. We are diverting scarce and limited resources to continue marijuana prohibition. This agenda is wasteful and outdated.
FALSE Threat of Japanese or Asian Boycott of Hawai’i if Cannabis Legalizes
Direct from Washington, DC, Project SAM featured speaker, Jordan Davidson, warned (without proof) that cannabis legalization increased the “likelihood that visitors from Japan and other Asian countries would no longer choose to visit Hawai’i.”
SEE: Project SAM Urges Hawaii to Support Criminals
Keep in mind that legal cannabis spaces with high Asian traffic, such as Canada, Washington state, Oregon, California, do not report drops in Asian visitors due to legal cannabis sales. Project SAM appears to be deceptive. SAM — Smart About Marijuana. Smart people legalize. Einstein said only dimwits continue broken and failed policies, while expecting different outcomes.
SEE: Japanese Interests Prepare to Block Cannabis Legalization in Hawai’i
Further, let’s look at the economic realities in our visitor pool. A Japanese visitor spends on average $1,410, while a mainland USA visitor spends on average $2,140 — 51% more than the visitor from Japan. Japanese visitation is down at this time, not due to cannabis concerns, but the low exchange rate of yen to dollar. [Hawai’i Tourism Authority figures, 2019]
Native Hawaiians use cannabis. Cannabis is part of island culture. Think of Bob Marley, and everybody loves Bob. It is ghastly that White and Asian officials deny legal consumption, and continue fines and jail penalties. What did Denby say initially? “If adults want to smoke marijuana, thatʻs fine with me.”
It’s not fine with her. We see a concerted effort by privileged White men and White women to block cannabis reform and legalization. There is no moral, legal, social, medical or scientific justification to continue marijuana prohibition in a free society that permits the adult-use of alcohol, tobacco, nicotine vaping and caffeine consumption. The lack of reasoning and logic suggests continued Institutional Racism.
Remember, it was White male Harry Anslinger, 1937, who rebranded cannabis as “marihuana” to scare White America by demonizing Black and Brown immigrants after the end of alcohol prohibition. Anslinger made unsubstantiated claims that marihuana use by Black men threatened the safety of White women. These “reefer madness” myths have fueled an insidious racist agenda for nearly 100 years.
There are similar racist overtones in the White opposition to cannabis reform in Hawai’i today. As featured in Jonathan Y. Okamura, Civil Beat, discussion of local identity, “Hawaiians Must Be Punished.” Shame on these ignorant racist motherf*ckers !!! Be better !!!
Let’s Summarize
Denby Fawcett is a veteran newspaper and television journalist. She is a graduate of Columbia University and was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. She has been inducted into the Associated Press Television Radio Association’s Hall of Fame for a lifetime of achievement.
Denby negligently misled the public about current cannabis laws and penalties, as well as impairment assessment. Claims to support adult cannabis use, while hypocritically opposing legalization. Encourages cannabis users to break the law. Encourages continuation of a black market system for grow, sale and distribution of cannabis products, which funds criminal networks that traffic in meth, fentanyl, cocaine, opioids and human beings. Normalizes alcohol consumption in her spaces. Self-righteously opposes adults who prefer cannabis.
Is Denby representative of the best & brightest in Hawai’i? Or an example of kindness, compassion and sense of justice in the Aloha state? Seems not.
Tens of thousands of people in Hawai’i would like to exercise their freedom and preference to use cannabis products. Responding to their requests to act legally and responsibly, Denby says, “In my view, it is never a good time to legalize pot, but of all times this is the worst to take on another controversial issue when the state is already staggering under so many seemingly unsolvable problems.”
Denby: IN MY VIEW … MY VIEW … ME, ME, ME … I, I, I. Denby doesn’t really care about the desires and preferences expressed by other people. Remember, she said, “If adults want to smoke marijuana, thatʻs fine with me.”
Not fine with her. She passionately argues to deny rights of other people. She stands on her privileged sorority girl soapbox, pats herself on the back for allegedly supporting equality in society — while hypocritically keeping Hawai’i residents in a state of criminality and social disfavor.
Folks, Denby and her friends are a Mean Girls and Insecure Boys. Posers and punks. Shame on them. Denby, please be a leader. Do better.
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Ko’olau of Kaua’i. I am the Defiant One
“I Believe We Can”
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