Ask the Mayor: What Can I Do About Medical Marijuana Smokers at Condo?

Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the questions submitted to his staff.

Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa at [email protected], 270-7855 or mail them to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793.

Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.

Maui Now stock photo. July 2016

Dear Mayor,

Q: I am the general manager at a condominium and some people with medical marijuana licenses are smoking outside the building all of the time, and now it’s encouraging those without marijuana licenses to light up as well.

There hasn’t been any trouble so far but I’m afraid this will encourage others to do the same.

Are there any options for me? I don’t want to tell these people they can’t smoke pakalolo and then get slapped with a lawsuit for violating their rights. Please help.

A: Interesting question and I’m sorry but the county can’t offer you free legal advice, that’s not what our attorneys do. However, we can point you in the right direction, and maybe your own attorney can look into this.

Whether someone is smoking medicinal marijuana or tobacco or something else, we all still have to follow statewide law, which protects people from second-hand smoke in general.

Most apartments and condos have some sort of building policy which prohibits smoking within a certain proximity to the residential structure.

You might be able to enforce that policy by quoting state law, but again, have your attorney look into so he or she can make their own determination.