On Monday, April 22nd, 2024, in a shocking turn of events, the Hawai’i Senate defeated the House-passed version of SB 2487, which would have expanded the state’s paltry decriminalization law. The Senate had previously approved an earlier version of SB 2487, 24-1. It had also passed full legalization, which died in the House Finance Committee.
Sen. Angus McKelvey was one of the 14 senators to flip from “yes” on March 5’s vote to “no” yesterday. He claimed, “The Senate sent a very good, reasonable…
"Our federal marijuana laws perpetuate our broken criminal justice system, impede research, restrict veterans’ access, and hinder economic development."
Sebastian Marincolo, philosopher and author of "High: Insights on Marijuana"
"The legalization of marijuana is not a dangerous experiment—the prohibition is the experiment, and it has failed dramatically, with millions of victims all around the world."
Illinois State Senator Heather Steans
"MPP is the most effective and influential cannabis policy driver in the U.S."
Milton Friedman, economist
"There is no logical basis for the prohibition of marijuana."
Andrew Sullivan, author
"The sole tangible way in which pot is a gateway to other illegal drugs is that it is illegal. The best way to end this easy path to worse narcotics is to legalize it and take it out of the hands of criminals and gangs."
DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young
"Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care. ... It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record."
Alice Huffman, grassroots leader and president of the California Hawaii NAACP
"We believe whatever potential harms may be associated with using marijuana are more than outweighed by the immediate harms that derive from being caught up in the criminal justice system. Once a young person is arrested and brought under the justice system, he or she is more likely to get caught in the criminal justice system again.... It is time to end the failed war on drugs by decriminalizing and regulating marijuana to save our communities."
Former President Jimmy Carter
"Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."