[420 Girl]

Come November 4, the Hawai`i Island ballot will contain a number of questions presented to local voters referendum-style, among them, a provision dubbed 'Peaceful Skies.' The name refers to ending the war-like turn marijuana eradication has taken over the past decade. It is important for voters to come out in favor of the initiative but before I get to that point, a bit of reflection on the current situation.

Nowadays, pro- and anti-marijuana camps are clearly divided in opposition -- just what one would expect in a war. These opposing parties have each barricaded themselves against the other's good intentions, for the most part, because vested interests have taken over their respective camps. In order to be successful at either liberating a great natural gift to humanity or eliminating it from the face of the Earth, this, depending on where they sit, the not-so-happy campers talk smack about their enemies and lob whatever they can over the barricades in the hope of taking the other guys out. In the process, all good intentions get lost.

Both sides are rife with rhetoric -- the stuff that not only starts wars but keeps them going even after it has become painfully obvious that this is no way for adults to behave. The barrage of verbage serves nothing but the subplot that, by now, has become the real reason for the war -- namely the economic benefits associated with contraband substances.

Our own police department gets a nice chunk of change to play with after the Green Harvest helicopter and training bills get paid. Officers get gas money, lunch and cell phone time courtesy of the feds and all they have to do is jump out of the choppers and in on unsuspecting growers -- preferably hippies from the mainland. (Am I the only one to notice that the high profile pakal-l- busts that have occurred lately involve a disproportionate number of Caucasians?)

Bringing up the rear, are a variety of bureaucrats who not only get paid to portray marijuana as the source of all evil but also get a lot of visibility to launch their political careers. (Would this column be complete without at least one reference to Billy Kenoi?)

The other side of the subplot is dominated by industrial scale growers who profit by managing the risks associated with producing such a widely used commodity in this kind of environment. It's all about bringing down the big bucks until they get caught, at which point they cry like big babies. Backing them up are the marijuana activists, about which a very astute gentleman said this just yesterday, "If it wasn't for the activists, marijuana would be legal."

In the meantime, all manner of hypocrisy prevails -- alcohol serves as a gateway drug to ice use as much as weed does, closet smokers take their place in the daily grind (the halls of government included), and kids who have been brainwashed to believe that pakal-l- is the devil, mature to find out different. My own Puna community is chock full of people who can't get on with their lives because they are stuck smoking the damn stuff every chance they get just to prove that 'the man' will never again control their thought processes.

Auwe!

This year, we made huge progress on the whole bloody mess when our county council voted first to refrain from taking money for Green Harvest and then later to put the Peaceful Skies Initiative on the ballot. Count Naeole, Jacobson, Pilago, Hoffmann and Yagong among those who deserve acknowledgement for their willingness to stick their necks out in an election year for what they believe in, namely the right of the people to be heard on such critical issues.

This is not to say that all those who voted against the measures were being hypocritical. Clearly Ford and Yoshimoto are among those people with good intentions who just happen to benefit from the political correctness of their own opinions.

Peaceful Skies will not, by itself, solve anything. The real solution lies with movement away from criminalization and towards responsible use. While this ballot initiative represents a tiny step in that direction, it is an important one nonetheless. It is your chance to visit a polling booth and voice your opinion. Be heard. If you are not already registered to vote, do so by October 6.

Early on, Big Island Weekly took a stand in favor of responsible use. We encourage our readers to vote 'yes' on the Peaceful Skies Initiative listed as Question #1 on the November 4 ballot.


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