HRS § 712-1249.4 - Commercial promotion of marijuana in the first degree
AI-assisted research summary: A person commits first-degree commercial promotion of marijuana if they knowingly meet one of the listed marijuana-amount, plant-count, or weapon-use conditions.
(1) A person commits the offense of commercial promotion of marijuana in the first degree if the person knowingly: (a) Possesses marijuana having an aggregate weight of twenty-five pounds or more; (b) Distributes marijuana having an aggregate weight of five pounds or more; (c) Possesses, cultivates, or has under the person's control one hundred or more marijuana plants; (d) Cultivates on land owned by another person, including land owned by the government or other legal entity, twenty-five or more marijuana plants, unless the person has the express permission from the owner of the land to cultivate the marijuana or the person has a legal or an equitable ownership interest in the land or the person has a legal right to occupy the land; or (e) Uses, or causes to be used, any firearm or other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, which in the manner used is capable of causing death, serious bodily injury, substantial bodily injury, or other bodily injury, as defined in chapter 707 in order to prevent the theft, removal, search and seizure, or destruction of marijuana. (2) Commercial promotion of marijuana in the first degree is a class A felony. (3) Any marijuana seized as evidence in violation of this section in excess of an aggregate weight of twenty-five pounds as stated in subsection (1)(a), or in excess of an aggregate weight of five pounds as stated in subsection (1)(b), or in excess of one hundred marijuana plants as stated in subsection (1)(c), or in excess of twenty-five marijuana plants as stated in subsection (1)(d) may be destroyed after the excess amount has been photographed and the number of plants and the weight thereof has been recorded. The required minimum amount of the marijuana needed to constitute the elements of this offense shall remain in the custody of the police until the termination of any criminal action brought as a result of the seizure of the marijuana. Photographs duly identified as accurately representing the marijuana shall be deemed competent evidence of the marijuana involved and shall be admissible in any proceeding, hearing, or trial to the same extent as the marijuana itself; provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit or restrict the application of rule 901 of the Hawaii rules of evidence. [L 1989, c 384, §1] Revision Note In subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), "or" deleted pursuant to §23G-15.