Court Opinion

ID: 9588267
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:32:02.193909+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:00:46.200536
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION OF
LEVINSON, J.
I dissent.
The crucial issue in this case is whether a person has a constitutionally protected right purposely to induce in himself, in private, a mild hallucinatory mental condition through the use of marihuana. I believe that there is such a right and that it is founded upon the constitutional rights to personal autonomy and privacy, guaranteed by article I, sections 2 and 5 of the Hawaii Constitution as well as by the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment of the Federal Constitution. I believe that HRS § 329-5 (Supp. 1971) violates both constitutions because it unreasonably infringes upon these rights and, therefore, I would reverse.
I. THE RIGHT TO BE LET ALONE AND ITS RELATION TO THE PRIVATE, PERSONAL USE OF MARIHUANA.
In our system of law the personal autonomy and privacy of individuals is afforded the highest consideration. The very concept of limited government evinces a desire to free persons from the unbounded control of the State, in order that they may most productively pursue their own life goals. Perhaps the best articulation of the values inherent in American constitutional law was given by Mr. Justice Brandeis in his now famous dissenting opinion in Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 478 (1928), quoted with approval in Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 557, 564 (1969):
The makers of our Constitution undertook to secure conditions favorable to the pursuit of happiness. They recognized the significance of man’s spiritual nature, of his feelings and of his intellect. They knew that only a part of the pain, pleasure, and satisfactions of life are to *340be found in material things. They sought to protect Americans in their beliefs, their thoughts, their emotions and their sensations. They conferred, as against the Government, the right to be let alon'e — the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men. (emphasis added)
This right to personal autonomy lies at the heart of our system of government. Some of its component ideas find expression in the constitutional guarantees of free speech, press, assembly, religion1 and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.2 These guarantees uphold the dignity of the individual and protect his right to develop in accordance with the inward forces which make him a unique human being. As important as these enumerated rights are, however, it would be grave error to hold that they exhaust the limits on the power of government to invade the individual’s right to freedom of thought and action. The framers of the United States Constitution recognized that individual freedom is not susceptible to full definition by verbal enunciation and thus warned in the ninth amendment:
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall, not be construed to deny or disparage othérs retained by the people.3
Mr. Justice Goldberg in his concurring opinion in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 494 (1965), expressed the belief that this amendment afforded proof that due process of law encompasses a fundamental personal right of privacy. Accord State v. Abellano, 50 Haw. 384, 386, 441 P.2d 333, 335 (1968) (concurring opinion of Levinson, J.). In Hawaii there can now be no doubt that the right of privacy *341exists as a basic safeguard of individual liberty since it has been given substantive expression in article I, section 5 of the State Constitution.4
*342This constitutional right to privacy encompasses more than just freedom from government surveillance. It guarantees to the individual the full measure of control over his own personality consistent with the security of himself and others. This freedom to choose one’s own plan of life is essential to the pursuit of happiness and the enjoyment of life and thus finds additional protection in article I, section 2 of the Hawaii Constitution.5 See State v. Shigematsu, 52 Haw. 604, 610, 483 P.2d 997, 1000 (1971). In the instant case, the State’s infringement upon this right of personal autonomy becomes apparent when one understands the nature of marihuana and the reasons for its use.
It is now universally recognized by modern authorities on the subject that marihuana is not a drug of addiction; that is, unlike narcotic drugs, marihuana does not produce physical dependence in the user which compells its continued use. L. Grinspoon, M.D., Marihuana Reconsidered 233 (1971).6 The individual who uses marihuana does so from choice, in the pursuit of various goals which may include the relief from tension, the heightening of perceptions, and the desire for personal and spiritual insights. L. Grinspoon, M.D., supra at 176; J. Kaplan, Marijuana— The New Prohibition 73-74 (1970); M. Town, “Privacy and the Marijuana Laws” reprinted in The New Social Drug 129-30 (1970); Watts, Psychedelics and Religious Experience, 56 Calif. L. Rev. 74, 76-79 (1968). In short, marihuana produces experiences affecting the thoughts, emotions and sensations of the user. These experiences being mental in nature are thus among the most personal and pri*343vate experiences possible. For this reason I believe that the right to be let alone protects the individual in private conduct which is designed to affect these areas of his personality, so long as such conduct does not produce detrimental results.
This principle that the State’s power to restrain private conduct is limited by the need to show social injury was recognized by this court in State v. Lee, 51 Haw. 516, 521, 465 P.2d 573, 577 (1970):
[Wjhere an individual’s conduct, or a class of individuals’ conduct, does not directly harm others the public interest is not affected and is not properly the subject of the police power of the legislature.
In the Lee case, the court went on to announce a narrow exception to the above general rule. The State may also act to protect a large class of individuals from harm to themselves, but only where such harm has been compellingly demonstrated to the satisfaction of the court. State v. Lee, supra. Because the State has failed to establish that the private, personal use of marihuana harms either the user or society, I would hold that the prohibition of HRS § 329-5 (Supp. 1971) unreasonably infringes upon the appellants’ rights to personal autonomy.
II. THE EVIDENCE OF SOCIAL HARM IS INSUFFICIENT TO JUSTIFY MAKING THE MERE PRIVATE POSSESSION OF MARIHUANA A CRIME.
The State puts forth two main arguments as justification for prohibiting personal possession of marihuana. Primary reliance is placed on the contentions that marihuana is psychologically and physically harmful to the user. These contentions, however, are disputed by the State’s own expert witnesses, who were called to testify in the trial below on the toxic nature of marihuana.
When asked on direct examination whether in the course of his parctice he had personally observed any adverse ef*344fects from the use of marihuana, Dr. Fred Weaver, Chief Psychiatrist for the Adolescent Unit of the Hawaii State Hospital, Kaneohe, answered: “No, I haven’t, that I could attribute to the use of marihuana.” Dr. Weaver did testify that some large users exhibited the development of the so-called “amotivational syndrome,” which he described as a passive state where the affected individual loses interest in things that are traditionally important to the “older generation.” Nevertheless, this effect cannot serve as a valid basis for legislation. A society which cherishes individual freedom may not justify regulations solely on the need to maintain the existing order of moral, economic and social values.
The State’s other expert witness also failed to substantiate the claim that marihuana is harmful to the user. Dr. Louis J. Casarett, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Hawaii, when asked on cross-examination whether he considered marihuana to be a dangerous drug answered in the negative7 and, on further questioning, stated that he did not know of a single documented case of death due to the smoking of marihuana. By contrast, Dr. Casarett did testify that he considered aspirin to be a dangerous drug, which caused a certain number of fatalities among its users.
This testimony substantiates the opinion of other scholars in the field of marihuana use that harm to the user is not a conclusive fact, but speculative or a slight risk at best. L. Grinspoon, supra at 347. Under the standard laid down in State v. Lee, supra, mere speculation cannot form a valid basis for the .government’s use of its police power to protect a person from his own actions. Therefore, *345this ground is insufficient to justify the State’s intrusion into the privacy of the appellants.
The State also argues that the use of marihuana may contribute to the commission of crimes and that, therefore, personal possession of the drug is lawfully prohibited. Again the evidence in this area appears to be highly speculative. The State relies upon studies conducted in India, Latin America and Greece, which may not be readily transferable to the United States because of the differing economic and social conditions.8 On the other hand, studies which have been conducted in the United States, such as the La Guardia Study, conclude that marihuana is not a determining factor in the commission of crimes. L. Grinspoon, supra at 308-11. Given this present degree of knowledge, I would concur in the principle expressed by the United States Supreme Court in Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U.S. 557, 566-67 (1969), which held that the mere private possession of obscene materials cannot constitutionally be made a crime:
[I]f the State is only concerned about printed or filmed materials inducing antisocial conduct, we believe that in the context of private consumption of ideas and information we should adhere to the view that “[ajmong free men, the deterrents ordinarily to be applied to prevent crime are education and punishment for violations of the law . . . .”
Thus, I would hold that the State has failed to demonstrate sufficient justification for its intrusion into the privacy of the individual with respect to the personal use of marihuana. The State cannot prevail except under the test described by Mr. Justice Goldberg in his concurring opinion in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 497 (1965):
In a long series of cases this Court has held that where fundamental personal liberties are involved, they may not be abridged by the States simply on a showing *346that a regulatory statute has some rational relationship to the effectuation of a proper state purpose. “Where there is a significant encroachment upon personal liberty, the State may prevail only upon showing a subordinating interest which is compelling,’'’ Bates v. Little Rock, 361 U.S. 516, 524. The law must be shown “necessary, and not merely rationally related, to the accomplishment of a permissible state policy.” McLaughlin v. Florida, 379 U.S. 184, 196. See Schneider v. Irvington, 308 U.S. 147, 161.
In his concurring opinion, my Brother Abe recognizes that the State would ordinarily bear the burden of proving that the use of marihuana is harmful to the general public in order to justify prohibiting its use through the exercise of the police power. He argues, however, that since the appellants conceded that the State may regulate the use of marihuana, the State was relieved of its obligation to prove social harm. Apparently, he believes that the issue of the State’s power to prohibit was not controverted, and that, therefore, the State was not put on notice that it had to prove social harm as part of its case.
The record, however, belies this argument. The appellants specifically distinguished in their brief between the State’s power to regulate the use of marihuana (as in the case of such substances as alcohol and tobacco) and its power to prohibit altogether. Regulation and prohibition are not coextensive. Furthermore, the State’s presentation in the circuit court was replete with attempts to prove a nexus between the use of marihuana and harm to the user as well as a propensity toward anti-social behavior and the commission of crime. The circuit court repeatedly refused to limit the controversy to the reasonableness of the classification of marihuana as a narcotic. The suggestion that the State was relieved of its obligation to establish social harm is unrealistic.
I wish to make it clear that the views expressed in this opinion apply only to the private conduct of individuals. The *347vice of the present statute springs from the license it gives to the State to violate a person’s reasonable expectation of privacy. Where conduct is public in nature, however, society has a greater claim to the right of control and the State need not show as compelling an interest in its prohibition. Moreover, this analysis is not meant to imply a right to the personal use of other prohibited drugs, such as heroin and other narcotics, which are not involved in this case.
Finally, it should be stressed that the analysis I have adopted does not seek to establish this court as a super-legislature, exercising veto power over the wisdom and value of legislative policies. See Griswold v. Connecticut, supra at 512 (Justice Black’s dissenting opinion). Any criticism which attempts to deter courts from inquiring into the constitutionality of laws must distinguish between legislation which seeks to regulate economic and social relationships and that which intrudes into the purely private sphere of human life. In the former instance courts rightfully grant the legislature wide latitude for experimentation in the promotion of the general good. But, where the State endeavors to intrude into the individual’s private life and regulate conduct having no public significance, it is the duty of the courts to offer a haven of refuge where the individual may secure vindication of his right to be let alone.

Article I, section 3 of the Hawaii Constitution and the first amendment of the United States Constitution.

ArticIe I, section 5 of the Hawaii Constitution and the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution.

Article I, section 20 of the Hawaii Constitution contains a similar rule of construction.

Article I, section 5 provides:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches, seizures, and invasions of privacy shall not be violated; . . . (emphasis added).
The term “invasions of privacy” was added in the 1968 Constitutional Convention whose Standing Committee Report No. 55 in explaining it and urging its adoption said that it “will effectively protect the individual’s wishes for privacy as a legitimate social interest. The proposed amendment is intended to include protection against indiscriminate wire-tapping as well as undue government inquiry into and regulation of those areas of a person’s life which is defined as necessary to insure ‘man’s individuality and human dignity.’ ” The debates in the Convention’s Committee of the Whole on September 10, 1968, relating to the amendment include the following explanation by Delegate Larson:
Mr. Chairman, the right of privacy has been defined in many ways. Mr. Justice Clark called it the right to be let alone, to live one’s life as one chooses, free from assault, intrusion or invasion except as they can be justified by the clear needs of community living, under a government of law. Privacy has also been defined as a right to be let alone, the right of personality or man’s individuality and human dignity.
... I feel that each of us has his own definition of the so-termed “right of privacy” which is'meaningful to himself. . . . Personally, there are several main reasons why I feel such an addition of the right of privacy to this section would be worthwhile for inclusion in our Constitution.
Another area which has been under consideration in modern times is that of marital privacy. To what extent is government to be allowed into the intimacy of such a relationship, whether by regulating contraceptive devices or by specifying what can and what cannot be engaged in, in the intimacies of one’s bedroom.
... I feel the inclusion of such a right of privacy would be reflective of our times. The idea of right is an evolving concept constantly changing with the times. To the delegates of the 1950 Convention, it was important that we would not disqualify a juror because of sex or discriminate against persons in military enlistment. As some guarantees . . . become obsolete or archaic, others become important. A Bill of Rights should not only mirror ages past but should also recognize up to date demands upon human rationality and society. . . .
... I feel that the right of privacy is indeed one mark of freedom or democracy in our times. One of the great differences between countries which are called totalitarian or dictatorial and those which are called democratic or swingy is that of respect for the individual, in appreciation of the individual’s right insofar as possible to live his life without undue interference on the part of the state or of the government.

 Article I, section 2 provides:
All persons are free by nature and are equal in their inherent and inalienable rights. Among these rights are the enjoyment of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the acquiring and possessing of property. These rights cannot endure unless the people recognize their corresponding obligations and responsibilities.

Dr. Lester Grinspoon is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Harvard Medical School and Director of Psychiatry (Research) at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.

On direct examination Dr. Casarett did testify that one of the active ingredients in marihuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) could be considered a dangerous material because it might produce aberrant behavior in a fraction of its users. Subsequently, Dr. Casarett clarified this testimony by stating that this opinion was related to the use of the drug THC, rather than to the smoking of marihuana as such.

See J. Kaplan, Marijuana — The New Prohibition 98-136 (1970) for a critique of the reliability of these and other studies linking marihuana use and antisocial behavior.