Marijuana Counterculture Topic of Documentary at Maui Film Fest

One Good Year. Maui screening – 06.03.15.

By Maui Now Staff

A documentary on the marijuana counterculture in Humboldt County comes to the big screen on Maui as part of the Maui Film Festival in June.

The feature film documentary entitled “One Good Year,” travels to the remote backwoods of Northern California where three generations of pot farmers have built a thriving alternative culture around the valuable cash crop.

The screening comes following the passage of House Bill 321 in the Hawaiʻi legislature, that legalizes medical marijuana dispensary systems in Hawaiʻi, including two in Maui County.  The was transmitted to the governor on May 7, but still awaits his signature, veto, or passage without his signature.

The bill allows for eight dispensary licensees in the state:  three on Oʻahu, two on the Big Island, two in Maui County, and one on Kauaʻi.

Under the bill, licensees may begin dispensing marijuana and manufactured marijuana products on July 15, 2016, with the approval of the Department of Health.  The Department is also tasked with accepting applications for dispensary licenses from Jan. 12, 2016, to Jan. 29, 2016, and announcing licensees by April 15, 2016.

Also under the bill, licensed applicants must pay a $5,000 non-refundable application fee, an additional $75,000 fee for each license approved, and a $50,000 annual renewal fee.

House Speaker Joe Souki of Maui who co-introduced the bill has said that while the legislature made medical marijuana use legal in 2000, the law remained silent for 15 years on how patients could obtain the product if they or their caregivers were unable to grow their own supply.

The “One Good Year” documentary runs 80 minutes, and is schedule to play at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater.

The Maui Film Festival runs from June 3 to 7, 2015 at various venues throughout the county.