That’s the enduring question that lingers in the wake of “Chasing Smoke,” a comprehensive four-part series by staff writer Dan Nakaso on Hawaii’s world-famous pot industry.

Almost everyone, from social workers to law enforcement, agrees that the war — popularly known as Green Harvest — has put a crimp in the Island marijuana industry. More importantly, it has brought a measure of law and order to remote areas on the Big Island and elsewhere where pot is commonly grown.

But as Nakaso reports, the industry is far from gone. It continues to flourish today at a less open, less dramatic level.

The one clear, measurable effect of the war on marijuana has been on price. What once sold for as little as $15 to $25 an ounce goes for $400 to $600 an ounce today.

Law enforcement authorities say they have no clear idea of the current size of this clandestine industry. By most measurements, however, it appears that Hawaii remains one of the nation’s major producers of marijuana.

But the most striking thing about the 24-year war on pot is that no one can say for sure how much it has cost. Nakaso reported sweeping difficulty in obtaining accurate information on the overall costs of the war in terms of dollars, manpower, equipment and time.

Simply put, there can be no objective cost-benefit analysis. The war is justified primarily on the basis of anecdotal evidence; a belief that eradication efforts will result is less marijuana available and thus less abuse; and a noticeable reduction in the level of open lawlessness in Hawaii’s remoter regions.

But critics of the war say even these defenses are open to question. Many say marijuana remains relatively available — just more expensive.

And as for lawlessness, 25 years of military-style operations against a drug that many consider relatively harmless has generated as much disrespect for law enforcement as it has respect, critics say.

It is time for a serious comprehensive review of the value and worth of the “Green Harvest” war at a statewide level. The last such study was conducted in 1989 by then-Attorney General Warren Price.

“The only problem with the eradication effort in Hawaii is that it is costing over $1 million per year and it is not apparently reducing, much less eliminating, the marijuana industry in Hawaii. Nor is there any evidence to suggest it is reducing local consumption,” that report stated.

If those questions remain unanswered today, the state and counties should look for another way to deal with the dangers and social harm they see in Hawaii’s marijuana industry.

Published: April 6, 2000
© Copyright 2000 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Direct Link to Above Series:
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/specials/pot/index.html

Related Articles in Series:

Chasing Smoke: Hawaii's 24 Year War on Pot - Day 4
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5291.shtml

Chasing Smoke: Hawaii's 24 Year War on Pot - Day 3
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5284.shtml

Chasing Smoke: Hawaii's 24 Year War On Pot - Day 2
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5272.shtml

Chasing Smoke - Hawaii's 24 Year War on Pot - Day 1
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5267.shtml

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