Friday, May 30, 2008

Green Harvest rejected


By the narrowest of margins, the Aloha State's Big Island Hawaii County Council has rejected a state and federally funded marijuana eradication program known as "Green Harvest." The action came during a council meeting last week, when the council tied 4-4 on whether to continue to support the widely criticized program. The tie vote meant the motion to accept the funding failed.

"Green Harvest" began in Hawaii three decades ago and has been controversial ever since. Many residents opposed the program, saying low-flying helicopters searching for pot fields disrupted rural life and invaded their privacy. Others argued that the program has done little to eradicate marijuana and even promoted the use of other, more dangerous drugs.

By the 1990s, council members heeding public complaints began expressing reservations about the helicopter missions. In 2000, they rejected $265,000 in federal eradication funds, two-thirds of the program's money that year. But the following year, they once again accepted the full amount offered.

But last week's vote means the council will say "no thanks" to $441,000 in state and federal funds for "Green Harvest." It also means the county will save the $53,000 from its own budget that would have been its share of the operation's financial burden.

Last month, the council had narrowly approved "Green Harvest" on a 5-3 vote, but that vote had to be redone because the council failed to publish the legislation in local newspapers, as required by law. That provided the opportunity for Councilman Angel Pilago to change his vote and kill the program.

"This will have long-term impacts," Pilago said. "When we institute programs we, the county government, need to look at if they are detrimental to people's rights and the health and safety of the community. That's what we do," he told the Associated Press after the vote. "It's about home rule," he said. "The county must be assertive and aggressive and not defer certain powers to the state and federal governments. We must not cede those powers."

Pilago is running for mayor of Hawaii County, and his vote on "Green Harvest," as well as his support for a lowest law enforcement priority initiative currently underway there, could help him draw a contrast between himself and incumbent Mayor Harry Kim, who is a "Green Harvest" supporter.

"My position is no secret," Kim told the AP. "I support eradication, as long as it's done in a way that is not harmful to people who should not be harmed, as far as noise and catchment systems and all those concerns. I'm against all drugs. Marijuana is an illegal drug."

7 comments:

yellowdoggranny said...

well, good for them...but i think it should be legalized anyhow..and i don't even smoke the shit..

texlahoma said...

That's why I like you YDG, you can see things from other people's perspective even if you're not in the same situation. I think that is a quality that is undervalued in our country.

billy pilgrim said...

this is why god gave us indoor gro-ops.

texlahoma said...

God, if he shuts a door, he opens a window... then he climbs out, rings the doorbell, climbs back in the window, opens the door and looks puzzled that no one is there.

yellowdoggranny said...

did you read the article about willits, calif in mendocino country calif. about them lowering the amout of plants you can grow and the amout you can have in possession for the medical purposes marijuana?...check it out..pretty interesting..before mojo moved to san francisco she lived in willits,calif. and has a marijuana medical card to possess and to grow..she 'loaned' her card to her friend who had loads of land and they grew their crop and mojo's crop and they shared it...the judge had a place and grew it, the sherrif had a place and grew it..all the lawyers and business owners did too...more grass grown there than the mowing type grass...

joy said...

We own some land on the Big Island, which is Hawaii County. This eradication effort has been a local joke for a long time. Did you know the Ok National Guard has a similar program in SE OK?

texlahoma said...

They always seem so proud of themselves for destroying a tiny drop in the bucket. I always shake my head and think what a shame that they don't legalize and tax it.

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