S.C.R. No. 44 Summary

• Urges Hawaii Department of Health to request acknowledgment from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration that Hawaii's Medical Use of Cannabis program is exempt from federal controlled substance restrictions under 21 Code of Federal Regulations section 1307.03.

• Asserts that states have constitutional authority to regulate medical use of controlled substances, citing the Supreme Court's decision in Gonzales v. Oregon (2006).

• Notes Hawaii established its medical cannabis program through Act 228, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, and that the U.S. Department of Justice and DEA have never challenged its constitutionality.

• References the DEA's existing authority to grant scheduling exemptions, including the federal Schedule I exemption for peyote use by the Native American Church under 21 Code of Federal Regulations section 1307.31.

• States that federal scheduling exemption for Hawaii's medical cannabis program would remove the false perception that the program violates federal law and eliminate unintended consequences harming lawful medical cannabis patients.