Bill Text: HI SR145 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Requesting Congress To Enact Legislation To Remove Cannabis From The Federal Controlled Substances Act And Facilitate Private Banking Services For Cannabis-related Businesses Under Federal Law.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-13 - Referred to PSM/JDC, CPH. [SR145 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SR145-Introduced.html

THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

145

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting congress to enact LEGISLATION to remove cannabis from the FEDERAL controlled SUBSTANCES act and facilitate PRIVATE banking services for cannabis-related businesses under federal law.

 

 


     WHEREAS, thirty-three states, four United States territories, and the District of Columbia have authorized the use of medical cannabis; thirteen states and the United States Virgin Islands have decriminalized cannabis; and ten states, the Northern Marianas Islands, District of Columbia, and three Native American tribes have legalized adult-use cannabis; and

 

     WHEREAS, data submitted by the State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General to the United States Department of Justice over the past decade indicates that there are over 1,000 arrests for cannabis possession in Hawaii each year, including hundreds of juveniles who might not otherwise encounter the criminal justice system, and that Native Hawaiians are disproportionately arrested for cannabis possession; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii passed its medical cannabis statute via Act 228, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, and authorized the establishment and regulation of medical cannabis dispensaries via Act 241, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are currently over 24,000 medical cannabis patients registered with the Hawaii Department of Health; and

 

     WHEREAS, continued scheduling of cannabis under the federal Controlled Substances Act impairs the ability of medical cannabis dispensaries and other cannabis-related businesses to operate without the prospect of federal seizures, forfeitures, arrests, and other enforcement and prosecutorial actions; and

 

     WHEREAS, alcohol and tobacco remain outside of the purview of the Controlled Substances Act and have significant negative impacts on individual and public health, including physical injuries, psychological and social harm, and the onset of chronic, often fatal illnesses related to regular use; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's medical cannabis dispensaries and other cannabis-related businesses, including those providing goods, services, property, and facilities to cannabis-related businesses, are hampered by the inability to obtain the full spectrum of private banking services under federal law; and

 

     WHEREAS, legislation has been introduced in recent years by members of Congress to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and facilitate the full spectrum of banking services, including deposit insurance, for cannabis-related businesses; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that Congress is requested to enact legislation that will remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act and facilitate the full spectrum of private banking services for cannabis-related businesses under federal law; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the United State Senate, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Request Congress to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970

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