HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0314.024 1996-1998
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N~rtL Hawaii pn?,ii~ Sa[acy C~~mttt~ ~ qm I~~t
1'.C~. Hex
Kamueja, ITawau
June 27, 1907
Gn aahalf of the Nortn Hawaii PUbNC Safety Comrnlltee, I wish to actively support the proposed tederel funding
for trlu eradication of msrituana plants. Thera has been sumo crthoism rogardiny the use of hellco{riars In the
eradir-'rtion procasy as balnv !ntiusiva and pulling the pprnmunlty at risk. There la inheront Msk In everything,
~nciuding geU!ng out n! bed t;r the rooming, and mariprana oradicatia-~ through tho use of rappeuors antl
t,elic:optors cs nnr. risk ! am Mora !hen wlll;ng ro take. The county hiros srnatl private helicopters in an effort to
r:,unmizo the intrusion, Wh®n you <:anstd9r that virtually all police efforts are Intrusive In one way or another
jDUI road blocks are Just onr, exarnplo}, then "Green Harvest" is actually one of the least invasive,
As part of the process to rernovs man)uan&, the use of helicopters actually reduces the invaslan on the
cornrnundy, The aitamative to the helic:optor would be tU have the offieot5 walk into and out of rho area. This
requires cons3derabry mnra man hours and is also notably more disruptive. I recontly witnessed a 'harvest' nut
vary far horn my home ui the adjacent ehendenaa cane field now covered whh 30 toot high ironwood trees, Il
toots the nelicoptar apfrroxlmately 2 minutes to fiy aver my hvme, have an officer repel into the field sumo 500
yards awry, remove the marijuana plsnts and fly riff, Yos, it was somewhat distractiing at the tuna but was less
invasive than a march of officers across our property, out into the field and hack again. It is also considerably
more accurate. Soma months back my mother reported soveral young adults toting a basket of small marijuana
plards, catting through our property to go into thi6 same field. Officers were dispatched to try to toCate rho crop.
1 hey wore unsuccessful, Aanal survey Is obvrously considerably more effective.
P.1srry private landowners eau the polies department when thoy dlswver mariJuana growing on their property.
Those funds would continue the hiring of thaso smell privato holicoptats, their highly experiencsd pi{ats, and the
paying of officors a0 outside of the tlepartrnent budget.
rho argurnont has boar tnadt~ that if "Green Harvest" (s such a wonderful process, why is there sliA marijuana In
the schools. 1Nny do we still have other drugs, guns, vlolenca, and high teenage pregnancy rates In the schools?
Y pore are programs to Combat thoso 3116 also, yet they too still exist. The only way to tndy eliminato a!I such evils
would raquiro us aU glvtrtg up nor civil Ilbortles, something I for one, am not willing lc lorego.
Trre eradicaf!on preces5 puts pressure on the grdwers. We have largo areas of uncultivated land, particularty
:long the Hanakua Co05t, includ;ng Waipfu, Walrnanu and rho Laupahoahoe Foros! Reservo. Since the polloo
started using helicopters as a means of marlJuana eradi,etlon, the number df'hooby trap" and confrontation
Incidents between growers entl fire community have all but disappeared. Previously those incAdenls averaged 3
to 4 a week.
A5 an adcitlonaP concern, I understand that all the other counties in tho state aro supportive of this measure.
7herotore, should we choose fu not pursue the same path, tl would follow Ihat marijuana growers from the other
!stands would quickly relocaia their activlhes hero, since it would be CUnsiderably easier to grrnv their crop if
°pruen Harvest' didn't exist.
kiradicaGan Is only part of the law ontarrement program designod to curb the cultivation end distdbulion of
rnari}uana. It is armed at keeping the number of people who are plantors from successfully growing and
nsrvesling (heir crops and It is designed to keep eur forests and unculllvated lands open to Iha public.
C:CihjeGivery, 3t is the least invasive and the most affective means of fighting a very diHicull ba111e. lJttimataly, Il is
a vital and vary necessary pert of meintalning our local outdoor lifestyle, wtfere wo are free to hunt end hike
wilhUUt feat.
Mahalo
yay Mathews POat~lt^ bravo Sax transmdtal memo 7671 k~peo+• ~ J
m rr.
North Hawa!I Public Safety Cnmmitrne ~L.,~LL!`7~-
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dpi. - Plarya
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Fu M ~ /
s ? r ~mm. No.1`~.~
Comm. No. v • ` '— r ,.
File No. 1)16
Rept To:PresentedCOOK.1)
Ref. Date JUL 0 2 1997 —