My wife and I just got back from Kaanapali , Maui , our first time there . I am 46 , short hair , wearing Nautica shorts and a R.L. Polo shirt and my Raybans with my wife walking in downtown Kaanapali and was offered seven times in the first day , a local delicacy called Mowie Wowie (marijuana) . Many times after that also . We were amazed . We asked a local shop keeper about the general attitude of people here about that . He said - ``The native people here consider marijuana to be sacred and a gift from the gods , mortal men cannot take this gift away . It is strictly controlled by us . Our biggest problem is the DEA . They say they want to fix a PROBLEM that doesn`t exist ``. My wife and I always knew that it should be legalized , controlled , and taxed as to take it from underground sources to being a resource of revenue for law enforcement and education . Hawaii is a model for the the rest of the U.S. . I know I don`t want police officers spending valuable time arresting petty stoners and using jail space to house them instead of chasing REAL criminals that hurt people . What is your opinion ?

I am young. 17. I am a high school student. I am not a Jesus freak. I don't think I am a nerd. I have been offered it many times. I have seen drugs lead to many deaths in my family. I have seen the intelligent conversation between myself and friends as freshman detoriate into how to properly pack a bowl of whatever. My cousin was a former (and I fear now that he is out of prison, a current) big drug dealer. Cocaine. Crack. Speed. PCP. Everything. Told me most of his customers bought weed from him before moving on and maturing to big stuff. Drugs seem to ruin people's lives. We may as well legalize suicide, or legalize the ruining of lives. Drugs support everything wrong with our society, and I totally hate all drugs.
I say we need someone on our world to jsut go around killing these drug dealers randomly. A modern day robin hood. An unidentified John Doe in a Chrysler 1990's minivan. To just eliminate this scum.
Drugs, and even more the people who sell them, are some of the worst in our society.

Aloha . . . the local baggie merchants you ran into in Maui are not the best "spokespersons" for our local attitudes or law enforcement's view. Simple possession of an ounce or more of wowie or kona gold gets you a misdemeanor (max $1000, 1 Yr), anything less is a petty misdemeanor. Commercial growers face felony charges.

As far as I know, "locals" don't take the rastafarian view that marijuana is sacred or a gift from the gods, it's an imported plant. I don't think you'll find very many public health workers here that don't believe that Hawai'i's methamphetamine ("ice") epidemic isn't in some way related to the availability of weed here.

By the way , I or my wife don`t use it , but only for one reason . We have a thirteen year old daughter and have told her we don`t break the law even if the law is wrong .

IMHO, and I have smoked in the past, though can't now due to my employment position. I really have no problem with weed. I saw a bumper sticker that read,

"God made pot, Man made beer, who do YOU trust?"

The word beer could be substituted for any number of other substances, nuff said by me.

__________________
1991 300SE (my ride, 279,000 miles, looks almost new
1954 Cadillac (21 yo son's car, he bought when age 15)
1972 SeaBird 19 ft runabout (old but solid, slant six, Volvo sterndrive perfect condition, undergoing complete overhaul and refit)
1998 Toyota Rav4 (my sons daily driver when he is in the Continental US, PROUDLY serving in US Navy)

I was never approached in Maui, but maybe because my 7 year old daughter was tagging along.

But when I was in Boston on busness (by myself) I was approached several times.