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…
"Legalization is picking up steam on a global level and I feel like now is the time to spread information about the curing capabilities of this plant. As with any medicine, increased accessibility comes with the need for education."
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."
Emily Clapp writing for Green Entrepreneur
"Evidence of MPP's effectiveness? Of the 11 states with some form of legalization law on the books, the organization led the political campaigns for eight."
Carl Sagan, astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, and author
"The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world."
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."
Michelle Alexander, professor, civil rights advocate, legal scholar, and author of "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness"
"What is most fascinating about the marijuana legalization debate is how long it has taken us to get to this point. The potential harm associated with smoking marijuana pales in comparison with the harm suffered by the millions who have been arrested, jailed and branded criminals simply because they were caught with the drug."
William F. Buckley, Jr., public intellectual and author
"The amount of money and of legal energy being given to prosecute hundreds of thousands of Americans who are caught with a few ounces of marijuana in their jeans simply makes no sense - the kindest way to put it. A sterner way to put it is that it is an outrage, an imposition on basic civil liberties and on the reasonable expenditure of social energy."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
"Our federal marijuana laws perpetuate our broken criminal justice system, impede research, restrict veterans’ access, and hinder economic development."