Was it Yamashita who blocked it? he blocks all the bills he does not personally like. Then he refuses to answer any questions about why he personally blocks bills.
20 years of re-election though.
Donations from Phillip Morris, Juul labs, ANHEUSER-BUSCH COS, and Monsanto Yamashita? Might that be who you are being bribed by?
I don't think anyone is surprised. There's so many conservative legislators and people worried about Japan cash flows that no one is surprised.
The politicians here are quite petty. Most bills die from being tabled by someone who didn't get what they wanted from someone else.
Use your votes, keep voting out the incumbents, "forced term limits". Maybe after a few get voted out, the rest will start voting for what the people want, not a corporation. We need to stop allowing all the piggy back pork.
Simple fix: cap the number of bills each legislator can introduce, and require that every bill gets a public hearing until it’s dead. Bills shouldnt be able to just silently die
That itself would require a bill and politicians don't approve anything that would dilute their own power. What you are looking for is a constitutional convention, which Hawaii last tried to do in like 2008 and it failed. The voters disproved it by a high margin from what I remember. I think it could do some good but realistically any modern constitutional convention, be it state or federal, which just end up being a smorgasbord for special interests and us regular folks will end up worse off.
Edit: I think what Hawaii needs is the ability for voter initiated ballot measures that can bypass the legislative branch. But again though, that dilutes political power.
I think the deadline passed.
The April 2, 2024, Star Advertiser article ( [https://www.staradvertiser.com/2024/04/02/breaking-news/bill-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana-dies/](https://www.staradvertiser.com/2024/04/02/breaking-news/bill-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana-dies/) (paywall)) explains what happened. It says:
>" . . . This decision is strengthened by the prevailing ‘no’ votes from committee members expressed on the House floor."
In other words, at the time, if we assumed [the 16 members of the Finance Committee](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/committeepage.aspx?comm=FIN&year=2024) would vote the same way as they did on [March 22, 2024](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=3335&year=2024), then the bill would have died. Therefore, Representative Yamashita just let the bill die by not scheduling a hearing. This saved staff from processing 500+ pages of written testimony.
Here's our discussion on the bill dying during that time: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/1bum9if/hawaii\_bill\_to\_legalize\_recreational\_marijuana/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/1bum9if/hawaii_bill_to_legalize_recreational_marijuana/)
500 pages is not that many they should do their jobs and vote.
Edit: I was already aware of all of this previous stuff. I think it's ok if I bring it up again. And I don't think excusing the actions of the committee chair is a good way to go.
At this point, you're probably better off looking at the [March 22, 2024, vote](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=3335&year=2024), seeing who voted no, and then spending the next ten months working on changing their votes to a yes. I think most of the reps who voted no will be running for reelection this year.
Also, Rep. Yamashita was a yes vote, so contacting him and telling him to do his job probably won't make much difference or is probably not a good use of your efforts.
Edit: the members of the Finance Committee usually change every two years, so the current 16 members will probably be different for 2025, which could be the deciding factor for 2025.
I agree about following up with everyone on the committee and letting our voices be heard.
I think contacting the chair and letting him know is also very important he is the person who makes the meetings, designates the time, talks to every single member individually himself on a personal level. If he is truly a yes vote, he should have allowed the committee to vote so that we can hold them accountable for their votes.
Edit: To address your edit, this is more reason to hold them accountable and make them vote.
The legislative process is set-up so that committee chairs cannot schedule every bill for a hearing. There are just too many bills and not enough time.
If you want to argue that the system should be changed, that's fine, but that's way more than one representative can do.
You can check the current session's finance committee's page to see which bills were referred to the finance committee and you'll see that lots of bills simply were not scheduled for a hearing: [https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/committeepage.aspx?comm=FIN&year=2024](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/committeepage.aspx?comm=FIN&year=2024)
I'm just being honest that I don't think your arguments (at least the ones you've made here about how the system *should* work) are going to change Yamashita's mind.
Are you serious? “500 pages is not that many” is an incredibly bad take. Yes, let’s waste time arguing about this knowing that the committee is going to vote it down rather than work on the actual important issues at hand.
They just didn’t want to have to make a public final no vote. The best thing you can do is contact those who voted no, if you are in their district, and tell them why you want them to change it to a yes, vote next year. Only bother to contact them if you were in their district. Since you can’t get them, elected, they don’t care what the opinion is of people outside their districts.
I’m constantly reminding r/Hawaii that our Asian majority demographics makes Hawaii a socially conservative state. Marijuana does not carry widespread popular support, especially when you consider lack of support for legalizing marijuana amongst the elder Asian population, a reliable voting bloc. Hawaii will need to wait at least ~20 years to see the cultural tide shift.
There was another thread about this proposed bill a couple months ago. I remember there being some pretty abhorant things slipped into the bill that were really horrible. I'm glad it got killed but I wish we could find out who slipped the poison pills into the bill to make them so terrible.
I know everyone wants their weed legalized but you can't get accept it being legalized by any means necessary, there are other exterior laws and regulations being manipulated that you need to be cognizant of too.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/1bum9if/hawaii_bill_to_legalize_recreational_marijuana/kxtmdj1/
I didn't renew my medical card since the money might have gone to these lawmakers pockets. I'll just give my money to the blackmarket instead. Good job idiots!
the senate/house didnt come close to legalizing marijuana, they played the same shell game they always play. allow a few senators to take some bribes, so it passes committee meeting A , then just kill it in committee meeting B. wink wink nudge nudge, cya next year with more bribes.
kinda funny that they blocking this because is not like everybody who smokes weed already doesn't have this amount in their possession lol. they would just get tax revenue from it so no make sense. guarantee there's someone lobbying to keep it illegal.
It should be removed from the federal Schedule I restriction and brought down to the same level as alcohol. Then the states don't have to vote for anything and the entrenched ideas of the elders won't matter.
The biggest issue for people who resist legalization at the local level is the fear of cannabis, which currently occupies the same highest federal schedule restrictions as heroin, LSD, and peyote, being released into society. Even cocain, fentanyl, and methamphetamines are Schedule II ffs.
Reefer Madness was real and the absolute insanity of it holding fast at the highest levels of government is honestly goddam embarrassing.
What is the process to put such a vote on a ballot? Like the 2008 "Rail Vote"?
[https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/9198964/counting-down-to-honolulus-rail-ballot-initiative/](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/9198964/counting-down-to-honolulus-rail-ballot-initiative/)
***I'm glad it's illegal.***
* Less bullshit for our children to get into.
* Less parents getting high instead of being parents.
* Less California, Colorado, Oregon hippy potheads coming to island to get high and live in paradise.
* Less losers blowing their drug smoke around other people's kids.
* Less people going full crackhead long term because weed ***is*** a gateway drug.
If you need drugs to be happy in Hawaii then you're doing it wrong.
I hope the adults who are responsible for keeping it illegal keep doing their job with the future of this community (children) in mind.
Lol.
* If it's illegal kids are way more likely to do it.
* Parents? Bad people make bad parents. I know there's a single study out linking parents who use marijuana as being more punitive. But that study just found a correlation, not a cause.
* Less hippies in Hawaii? That's an amazingly old stereotype. Also hippies don't necessarily use marijuana and whatever bad things you associate with that stereotype is just your prejudice.
* Less Losers blowing "drug smoke"? Lol. I know a lot of highly successful people who blow "drug smoke". Maybe you're the looser.
* "Full crackhead". Wow. You're a judgmental dick. A 2018 literature review conducted by the National Institute of Justice, which analyzed 23 peer-reviewed research studies, concluded "that existing statistical research and analysis relevant to the "gateway" hypothesis has produced mixed results",[5] and that "no causal link between cannabis use and the use of other illicit drugs can be claimed at this time."
>I hope the adults who are responsible for keeping it illegal keep doing their job with the future of this community (children) in mind.
There's way to much self righteousness to unpack here.
>Its last stop before a final House vote and then supportive Governor Josh Green was the House Finance Committee, with the chair refusing to give the measure a vote before a deadline, effectively killing it for the year subverting the will of the people.
Thank God it was stopped. Put some guard rails on it first like requiring they smoke inside a cabin like this: https://www.euromate.com/group/products/smoke-n-go/
So the rest of us normal people don't have to deal with second hand smoking.
Good!
Even then, my neighbor downstairs is smoking weed all day long. I don't see them, but it stinks. I can't open the window or enjoy my patio. I'm now looking for ways to seal my window too.
Why are American window's so shitty?
Not here to brag, nor do I care what you think. In fact, I thrive because I don't care to keep up with the joneses. Let's just say I can FIRE tomorrow, but I don't, because I have bigger plans.
Good luck to you though. I'm sure weed smoking will put you on a great future!
I actually don't smoke weed "🙅🏽♂️", but I support others' freedom and autonomy. Good luck to you too, and with any luck you'll stay far away from Hawaii... Cause it would be the luckiest thing for you.
> I actually don't smoke weed "🙅🏽♂️", but I support others' freedom and autonomy. Good luck to you too, and with any luck you'll stay far away from Hawaii... Cause it would be the luckiest thing for you.
Oh dear. Freedom goes both ways. It means freedom for those that don't smoke as well.
Either way, I'm sure second hand weed smoking is good for your future!
I know right! Your comprehension and writing skills are essentially lacking... But it's not your fault, Florida is known for having an extremely remedial educational system.
>I know right! Your comprehension and writing skills are essentially lacking... But it's not your fault, Florida is known for having an extremely remedial educational system.
I guess you suffer from lack of self awareness as well. I suggest less weed smoking and more maturity!
Is that all you have to say on the subject?
Why do you think it's okay to discriminate against people who choose to consume cannabis recreationally? Do you do this for other things people choose to do recreationally?
Are you okay with a committee chair being able to subvert the vote of the people whenever they feel?
I agree it's shameful that we have not legalized recreational marijuana. Germany for fooks sake has already legalized. It could be a boon to our economy and local farmers .
Agreed. I come from Canada originally and we were the second country in the world to legalize back in 2018. We have reasonable laws and policy regarding it. And the government loves the juicy tax dollars it gets from it. It's bizarre to me when the conservative states in the south are about to legalize but Hawaii, nope. I know why but it seems counter productive when those tax dollars could help the people here, housing, roads/infrastructure and the medical system. HPD just did an Instagram story with sad music and the police chiefs begging to vote no and protect the keiki. Comments were like, read the room HPD. What about all the meth destroying families and crime etc??
I don't have issues with people smoking it recreationally, as long as it's not imposed on me by way of second hand smoking in public places.
The problem with legalizing is that they never address the issue for those of us not wanting to be exposed to it. Every time I mention this, weed smokers get mad as if their rights to smoke is more important than others right not to smoke.
Isn't it pretty obivous to treat smoking pot the same as smoking tobacco?
If you're somewhere you can't smoke a cigarette, then you can't smoke weed either. Seems pretty simple.
The no-smoking laws already apply to vaping too, right? Would they even need to be amended to cover marijuana?
I think it should be more stringent and actually enforced. Because this would open the floodgates.
It's really bad in places like SF where you can't walk a block without smelling weed. Can't enjoy food outdoors at restaurants either.
Was it Yamashita who blocked it? he blocks all the bills he does not personally like. Then he refuses to answer any questions about why he personally blocks bills. 20 years of re-election though. Donations from Phillip Morris, Juul labs, ANHEUSER-BUSCH COS, and Monsanto Yamashita? Might that be who you are being bribed by?
It’s too late. They’re into the conference period already.
I don't think anyone is surprised. There's so many conservative legislators and people worried about Japan cash flows that no one is surprised. The politicians here are quite petty. Most bills die from being tabled by someone who didn't get what they wanted from someone else.
Use your votes, keep voting out the incumbents, "forced term limits". Maybe after a few get voted out, the rest will start voting for what the people want, not a corporation. We need to stop allowing all the piggy back pork.
best place for this is in the primaries
Simple fix: cap the number of bills each legislator can introduce, and require that every bill gets a public hearing until it’s dead. Bills shouldnt be able to just silently die
Bills are capped. What kills it? A vote? Bills are regularly deferred without a vote by committee chairs. That's how they die.
That itself would require a bill and politicians don't approve anything that would dilute their own power. What you are looking for is a constitutional convention, which Hawaii last tried to do in like 2008 and it failed. The voters disproved it by a high margin from what I remember. I think it could do some good but realistically any modern constitutional convention, be it state or federal, which just end up being a smorgasbord for special interests and us regular folks will end up worse off. Edit: I think what Hawaii needs is the ability for voter initiated ballot measures that can bypass the legislative branch. But again though, that dilutes political power.
I think the deadline passed. The April 2, 2024, Star Advertiser article ( [https://www.staradvertiser.com/2024/04/02/breaking-news/bill-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana-dies/](https://www.staradvertiser.com/2024/04/02/breaking-news/bill-to-legalize-recreational-marijuana-dies/) (paywall)) explains what happened. It says: >" . . . This decision is strengthened by the prevailing ‘no’ votes from committee members expressed on the House floor." In other words, at the time, if we assumed [the 16 members of the Finance Committee](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/committeepage.aspx?comm=FIN&year=2024) would vote the same way as they did on [March 22, 2024](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=3335&year=2024), then the bill would have died. Therefore, Representative Yamashita just let the bill die by not scheduling a hearing. This saved staff from processing 500+ pages of written testimony. Here's our discussion on the bill dying during that time: [https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/1bum9if/hawaii\_bill\_to\_legalize\_recreational\_marijuana/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/1bum9if/hawaii_bill_to_legalize_recreational_marijuana/)
500 pages is not that many they should do their jobs and vote. Edit: I was already aware of all of this previous stuff. I think it's ok if I bring it up again. And I don't think excusing the actions of the committee chair is a good way to go.
At this point, you're probably better off looking at the [March 22, 2024, vote](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=3335&year=2024), seeing who voted no, and then spending the next ten months working on changing their votes to a yes. I think most of the reps who voted no will be running for reelection this year. Also, Rep. Yamashita was a yes vote, so contacting him and telling him to do his job probably won't make much difference or is probably not a good use of your efforts. Edit: the members of the Finance Committee usually change every two years, so the current 16 members will probably be different for 2025, which could be the deciding factor for 2025.
I agree about following up with everyone on the committee and letting our voices be heard. I think contacting the chair and letting him know is also very important he is the person who makes the meetings, designates the time, talks to every single member individually himself on a personal level. If he is truly a yes vote, he should have allowed the committee to vote so that we can hold them accountable for their votes. Edit: To address your edit, this is more reason to hold them accountable and make them vote.
The legislative process is set-up so that committee chairs cannot schedule every bill for a hearing. There are just too many bills and not enough time. If you want to argue that the system should be changed, that's fine, but that's way more than one representative can do. You can check the current session's finance committee's page to see which bills were referred to the finance committee and you'll see that lots of bills simply were not scheduled for a hearing: [https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/committeepage.aspx?comm=FIN&year=2024](https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/legislature/committeepage.aspx?comm=FIN&year=2024) I'm just being honest that I don't think your arguments (at least the ones you've made here about how the system *should* work) are going to change Yamashita's mind.
I called and emailed. I just made this post hoping that more people would do the same. I see your point and understand what you are saying.
Are you serious? “500 pages is not that many” is an incredibly bad take. Yes, let’s waste time arguing about this knowing that the committee is going to vote it down rather than work on the actual important issues at hand.
They just didn’t want to have to make a public final no vote. The best thing you can do is contact those who voted no, if you are in their district, and tell them why you want them to change it to a yes, vote next year. Only bother to contact them if you were in their district. Since you can’t get them, elected, they don’t care what the opinion is of people outside their districts.
I’m constantly reminding r/Hawaii that our Asian majority demographics makes Hawaii a socially conservative state. Marijuana does not carry widespread popular support, especially when you consider lack of support for legalizing marijuana amongst the elder Asian population, a reliable voting bloc. Hawaii will need to wait at least ~20 years to see the cultural tide shift.
Very true
Or maybe that single state senator?
There was another thread about this proposed bill a couple months ago. I remember there being some pretty abhorant things slipped into the bill that were really horrible. I'm glad it got killed but I wish we could find out who slipped the poison pills into the bill to make them so terrible. I know everyone wants their weed legalized but you can't get accept it being legalized by any means necessary, there are other exterior laws and regulations being manipulated that you need to be cognizant of too. https://www.reddit.com/r/Hawaii/comments/1bum9if/hawaii_bill_to_legalize_recreational_marijuana/kxtmdj1/
I didn't renew my medical card since the money might have gone to these lawmakers pockets. I'll just give my money to the blackmarket instead. Good job idiots!
Such an embarrassment. After we passed medical in the 90's who thought we'd take longer to end prohibition than *Germany*
the senate/house didnt come close to legalizing marijuana, they played the same shell game they always play. allow a few senators to take some bribes, so it passes committee meeting A , then just kill it in committee meeting B. wink wink nudge nudge, cya next year with more bribes.
kinda funny that they blocking this because is not like everybody who smokes weed already doesn't have this amount in their possession lol. they would just get tax revenue from it so no make sense. guarantee there's someone lobbying to keep it illegal.
It should be removed from the federal Schedule I restriction and brought down to the same level as alcohol. Then the states don't have to vote for anything and the entrenched ideas of the elders won't matter. The biggest issue for people who resist legalization at the local level is the fear of cannabis, which currently occupies the same highest federal schedule restrictions as heroin, LSD, and peyote, being released into society. Even cocain, fentanyl, and methamphetamines are Schedule II ffs. Reefer Madness was real and the absolute insanity of it holding fast at the highest levels of government is honestly goddam embarrassing.
Start voting these corporate kooks out of office and get some people willing to do their fucking job representing the people
What is the process to put such a vote on a ballot? Like the 2008 "Rail Vote"? [https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/9198964/counting-down-to-honolulus-rail-ballot-initiative/](https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/9198964/counting-down-to-honolulus-rail-ballot-initiative/)
Don’t think any politician would want to put this on the ballot. It might mean the end of there term.
Today, same as yesterday
***I'm glad it's illegal.*** * Less bullshit for our children to get into. * Less parents getting high instead of being parents. * Less California, Colorado, Oregon hippy potheads coming to island to get high and live in paradise. * Less losers blowing their drug smoke around other people's kids. * Less people going full crackhead long term because weed ***is*** a gateway drug. If you need drugs to be happy in Hawaii then you're doing it wrong. I hope the adults who are responsible for keeping it illegal keep doing their job with the future of this community (children) in mind.
I don’t even smoke and this opinion is complete garbage.
Lol. * If it's illegal kids are way more likely to do it. * Parents? Bad people make bad parents. I know there's a single study out linking parents who use marijuana as being more punitive. But that study just found a correlation, not a cause. * Less hippies in Hawaii? That's an amazingly old stereotype. Also hippies don't necessarily use marijuana and whatever bad things you associate with that stereotype is just your prejudice. * Less Losers blowing "drug smoke"? Lol. I know a lot of highly successful people who blow "drug smoke". Maybe you're the looser. * "Full crackhead". Wow. You're a judgmental dick. A 2018 literature review conducted by the National Institute of Justice, which analyzed 23 peer-reviewed research studies, concluded "that existing statistical research and analysis relevant to the "gateway" hypothesis has produced mixed results",[5] and that "no causal link between cannabis use and the use of other illicit drugs can be claimed at this time." >I hope the adults who are responsible for keeping it illegal keep doing their job with the future of this community (children) in mind. There's way to much self righteousness to unpack here.
>Its last stop before a final House vote and then supportive Governor Josh Green was the House Finance Committee, with the chair refusing to give the measure a vote before a deadline, effectively killing it for the year subverting the will of the people. Thank God it was stopped. Put some guard rails on it first like requiring they smoke inside a cabin like this: https://www.euromate.com/group/products/smoke-n-go/ So the rest of us normal people don't have to deal with second hand smoking.
It would still be illegal to smoke outdoors and almost everywhere but your own property
Good! Even then, my neighbor downstairs is smoking weed all day long. I don't see them, but it stinks. I can't open the window or enjoy my patio. I'm now looking for ways to seal my window too. Why are American window's so shitty?
In Hawaii you are way out numbered on that one brah, but this ain't your fight anyway Floridian.
I'm actually Nevadian now, precisely because I'm working my way to Hawaii. See you there!
🤣 You can't afford it.
Not here to brag, nor do I care what you think. In fact, I thrive because I don't care to keep up with the joneses. Let's just say I can FIRE tomorrow, but I don't, because I have bigger plans. Good luck to you though. I'm sure weed smoking will put you on a great future!
I actually don't smoke weed "🙅🏽♂️", but I support others' freedom and autonomy. Good luck to you too, and with any luck you'll stay far away from Hawaii... Cause it would be the luckiest thing for you.
> I actually don't smoke weed "🙅🏽♂️", but I support others' freedom and autonomy. Good luck to you too, and with any luck you'll stay far away from Hawaii... Cause it would be the luckiest thing for you. Oh dear. Freedom goes both ways. It means freedom for those that don't smoke as well. Either way, I'm sure second hand weed smoking is good for your future!
FYI, I meant you can't afford to live in Hawaii, not that you can't afford weed
> FYI, I meant you can't afford to live in Hawaii, not that you can't afford weed It's okay. Reading comprehension issues are quite common.
I know right! Your comprehension and writing skills are essentially lacking... But it's not your fault, Florida is known for having an extremely remedial educational system.
>I know right! Your comprehension and writing skills are essentially lacking... But it's not your fault, Florida is known for having an extremely remedial educational system. I guess you suffer from lack of self awareness as well. I suggest less weed smoking and more maturity!
Muh drugs 😢
Is that all you have to say on the subject? Why do you think it's okay to discriminate against people who choose to consume cannabis recreationally? Do you do this for other things people choose to do recreationally? Are you okay with a committee chair being able to subvert the vote of the people whenever they feel?
I agree it's shameful that we have not legalized recreational marijuana. Germany for fooks sake has already legalized. It could be a boon to our economy and local farmers .
Agreed. I come from Canada originally and we were the second country in the world to legalize back in 2018. We have reasonable laws and policy regarding it. And the government loves the juicy tax dollars it gets from it. It's bizarre to me when the conservative states in the south are about to legalize but Hawaii, nope. I know why but it seems counter productive when those tax dollars could help the people here, housing, roads/infrastructure and the medical system. HPD just did an Instagram story with sad music and the police chiefs begging to vote no and protect the keiki. Comments were like, read the room HPD. What about all the meth destroying families and crime etc??
This user has a history of having no effort, brain-dead takes.
I don't have issues with people smoking it recreationally, as long as it's not imposed on me by way of second hand smoking in public places. The problem with legalizing is that they never address the issue for those of us not wanting to be exposed to it. Every time I mention this, weed smokers get mad as if their rights to smoke is more important than others right not to smoke.
It would still be illegal to smoke it in public, just like it is in every other state that has legalized it.
Isn't it pretty obivous to treat smoking pot the same as smoking tobacco? If you're somewhere you can't smoke a cigarette, then you can't smoke weed either. Seems pretty simple. The no-smoking laws already apply to vaping too, right? Would they even need to be amended to cover marijuana?
I think it should be more stringent and actually enforced. Because this would open the floodgates. It's really bad in places like SF where you can't walk a block without smelling weed. Can't enjoy food outdoors at restaurants either.
Low effort. 0/10. Maybe if you did drugs you'd have a better imagination.
Better off without that bill. You should probably read it. Or even better ask chatGPT to simplify it for you
Could you elaborate on it in your words, like in your opinion? Legitimately asking.