COM 0140.082 2000-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

STATEWIDE MARIJUANA TASK FORCE DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT PAGE 2 Department of Health, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division shows that 21.6$ of high school students in the 12`h grade are dependant on marijuana. Further studies indicate that the upsurge in marijuana use by youth is fostered by society's increasingly casual attitude and more permissive atmosphere toward marijuana. The efforts of national pro-marijuana groups have been highly publicized. The June 2000 enactment of the medicinal marijuana bill has led marijuana advocates to believe that marijuana cultivation has been legalized. Despite ongoing eradication and enforcement efforts by the - Statewide ~,arijuana Eradication Task Force, marijuana cultivation and/or distribution activities, and operations, continue. Marijuana cultivators continue to develop and implement new and innovative methods and expend tremendous efforts to ensure a "successful harvest" of their illicit crop. This makes enforcement efforts more difficult. It is imperative that law enforcement, under the auspices of the statewide task force concept, continue its coordinated efforts in developing and improving progressive eradication, investigative, and prosecutorial avenues, to curtail this problem. B. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: The overall goals of the Statewide Marijuana Eradication Task Force are to suppress marijuana cultivation, and to minimize product availability in the State of Hawaii. This will be achieved through coordinated efforts of the multi-agency task force, consisting of Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies. The Objectives Are: 1. Maintain a statewide task force of personnel from the four County Police Departments, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other State and Federal law enforcement agencies. T 2. Coordinate and carry out eradication efforts throughout the State of Hawaii, combining task force resources and manpower. 3. Standardize guidelines and procedures for marijuana eradication field operations.