The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Honolulu Democrat Karl Rhoads, passed SB686 this week, which would legalize the recreational use of marijuana by adults 21 or older.

The committee report is not yet available, but the bill describes four purposes.

(1) Decriminalize and regulate small amounts of marijuana for personal use;

(2) Establish a licensing scheme for the cultivation, sale, and use of small amounts of marijuana for personal use;

(3) Tax marijuana sales in the same manner as state excise taxes; and

(4) Subject income derived from marijuana sales to state income taxes.

I applaud Sen. Rhoads and his committee for taking this step, although the measure is a long way from passing out of the legislature. It has a double referral, and faces a review by the Ways & Means Committee next.

But I was disappointed to eavesdrop on Facebook as several friends attacked the bill and the committee action, most saying they fear dramatic growth in the number of stoned drivers and attendant safety issues. They also site the conflict with federal law, which still considers marijuana a controlled substance. That’s the same position taken by Gov. David Ige’s administration and law enforcement agencies.

The Attorney General’s Office submitted testimony stating that “federal laws regarding the nonmedical use of marijuana cannot be ignored.”

Well, this is no longer persuasive. Those same federal laws apply to marijuana used for medical purposes as well as for recreational use. And those concerns about federal laws have not prevented Hawaii’s medical marijuana law from being implemented and cannabis shops opening for business.

Proponents of the bill state the obvious. First, they point to polling showing that nearly two-thirds of Americans support the legalization of recreational marijuana. In Hawaii, a 2016 poll by Civil Beat found 73% of Hawaii residents in support. SB686 is in step with the changing views of the American public.

Testimony also pointed to the undesirable effects of of current drug laws. First, they result in criminal charges and convictions for simple marijuana possession, cases that add unnecessarily to the workload of police officers, boost judicial caseloads, and cause needless human suffering. Those with resulting arrest records face future hurdles in employment, personal finance, and other areas. And, in Hawaii, that burden falls most heavily on Hawaiians and part-Hawaiians, according to testimony.

Then there’s the aspect of prohibition that we don’t like to talk about. Keeping drugs and gambling illegal forces all of that demand over to illegal sources. It would appear that organized crime likely benefits the most from existing laws in both those areas. Legalization would take a major bite out of these economic pillars of organized crime.

And proponents of legalization point out that legal access to marijuana is likely to reduce the crisis in opioid use, now recognized as a dangerous and costly health issue.

In any case, here’s a link to the testimony submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

I’ll add a link to the committee report when it’s filed.

And you can use the link at the beginning of this post to track the status of the bill as it moves forward.