[420 Girl]

Lawrence Mahuna's diatribe against the successful Peaceful Skies initiative in the Nov. 7 West Hawaii Today serves to illustrate many things, primarily it illustrates what the public has come to expect from its County cops and what Mahuna went to great lengths to substantiate: namely, that ignorance and threats are the police way of dealing with the population they are hired to "protect and serve."

Mr. Mahuna is wrong on three major counts. First he does not work for the federal government. He is hired by and works for the county of Hawai`i. He is charged with enforcing the laws of the state and county and protecting its citizens. His statements regarding the legality of marijuana at county and not at the federal level have nothing to do with his job. In fact, given the recent election that law will probably change anyway since Obama supports the rights of the citizens utilizing marijuana within the legal framework of state law.

Second, Mahuna condemns those of us who vote for a legitimate ballot question of being terrorists, incompetents or duped. We are none of these Mr. Mahuna. For your information we are responsible, concerned citizens who see that the "war on drugs" is clearly being won by drugs and who don't enjoy throwing away good money and citizens for the sake of notches on your plant seizure scoreboard. We are, most of all, individuals who are persuaded by fact and reason rather than by rancid hyperbole.

Third, and most clearly crazy of all, is Mahuna's comparison of marijuana use to domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is a horrible vicious attack by one family member on another. Marijuana use by adults in the privacy of their homes is a choice which has no victims and does not interfere with another person's right of safety. It would be more appropriate to compare the illegality of marijuana to the previous illegality of hula or the Hawaiian language. These were outlawed out of ignorance, fear and religious perversion rather than because of any inherent wrongdoing.

Mahuna's comments regarding the religious use of marijuana are also out of line. Many religions use psychoactive drugs or alcohol as part of their sacraments. It's true that the God of Mahuna's Bible didn't advocate smoking pot but he hardly minded individuals being stoned -- literally and usually to the death.

One thing that Mahuna's arrogant bullying statements should do. It should convince the County Council that those of us who have been complaining about police abuse are not just "quacks." The mentality obvious in Mahuna's comments should be seen for what it is -- threats to the public. It is time now to establish a citizens oversight group to prevent the wanton abuse by an obviously intractable police force regarding the public's wishes.

The vote wasn't even close. By a margin of at least 10,000 votes the public has spoken and said that marijuana is the least important legal issue confronting this community. The people of the County of Hawai`i expect and deserve better of Lawrence Mahuna than his hateful fear mongering. We also expect and deserve better from whoever is chosen to be his successor.

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