The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-07-05
A PARADISE FOR
THE OPIUM FIEND
HAWAII Is THE ONLY PLACE
WHERE HE IS UNMO-
LESTED.
NO EFFECTIVE LAW AGAINST
THE DRUG.
Nay Be Freely Imported Sold and
Used-Kept in Stock With Other
Timed Goods"-The Reason.

Hawaii is probably the only territory
in all the states and territories where
there is no law in effect to limit the
use of opium.
The one place where there was rev.
olution largely growing out of the op-
position to the importation sale and
use of opium is the one community in
the union where opium is unmuNsted.
This state of affairs seems to grow out
of the fact that the. legislation which
was relied on when Hawaii was an in
dependent nation to limit and stop the
use OF opium and the traffic in j.. does
not fit the new condition Of things.
Under the old regime the theory Ut
dealing with the subject was to pre-
vent the Importation of opium except
by the Board of Health, which was Civ
en- monopoly of the drug for the puT-
pose of restricting its use to strictly
medical purposes. To enforce this
theory, and in ai1 of the Board mon
opoly, it was made a penal offensc for
anyone to import opium except the
Eoard of Health, or Cor anyone To nave
it in possession except licensed physi-
clans and they only for medical use, or
for anyone else to sell, or give 1t away,
or to have it in possession. 1t was not
made a penal offense to use it, because
no one in theory cDuld get 1t except
for medical purposes, and thu. only
through channels which wOull closely
guard against evasion and abuse
Then came the organization of Ha-
wall as a territory of the union, ami
with it the rights of interstate COM
| merce with which no one but congress
| could interfere. Opium being reCog-
nized as an article of commerce by the
| United States, it could be freely i'm
| nnrtaH If 4. .trh 10
import, he had right to have in pos
| session. or his right to import was
| valueless. He also had right 10 sell.
| OF it would be useless to import as an
| article of merchandise. Hence after
! the organization of the territory there
] was no question by the customs de-
| Iartment of the right 20 import opium.
| The police department tried for a time
| to enforce the law against having in
| possession, but a case was taken Oh
| appeal to the circuit court, and there
Judge Humphreys quickly declared
that part of the law unconstitutional
as being violation of the rights of in
| terstate commerce. There WIS never
an appeal taken to the supreme court.
| he decision of the circuit court being
| apparently accepted by the police de-
partment as conclusive on the subject.
| Judge Humphreys held that the right
| to have in possession was part of the
| right to import and hence that any
law making it a penal offense to have
in possession was IN violation of the
| rights OF interstate commerce. That
was as far as he went in his decision.
| however.
As there is no law against using
opium, and the law against importing
was knocked out by the territorial or
ganization and the law against hav-
ing in possession was knocked out by
the circuit court Hawaii ought to b.
the paradise of the opium fiend, the one
place under the American aag where
he can lie down to opium dreams with
cut fear of being molested by the
police.
There is no law to prevent the ship
ment of opium from San Francisco or
any other American port to Hawaii, "
said Collector of Customs Stackable in
reference to the San Francisco dispatch
stating that a quantity had been ship
ped here by the Alameda marked Sta
tionery"
Opium is an article of cmmerce and
when duty paid and properly stamped
1t may be as freely shipped from one
state or territory to another as sugar