Honolulu Criminal Defense Law Blog

There is some good news in Hawaii. Crime in this state has reached a record low as of a 2017 report. The report from August 2017 states that Hawaii's crime levels reached a record low in 2016. Based on the Uniform Crime Report, Crime in Hawaii 2016, there were 45,805 index crimes within the state. That equals around 3,206 offenses per 100,000 residents.

In 2016, Hawaii's crime rate dropped by 6.2 percent compared to 2015 and by 27.1 percent compared to the last decade.

Heroin has become a growing problem in Hawaii, much like in the rest of the United States. Residents here are 2,000 miles away from the mainland, but that hasn't stopped opioid abuse from taking over the islands.

In Kauai, officials reported that black tar heroin seizures were on the rise and have increased significantly since the last report in 2015. With it harder to get prescription opioids, it's believed that more people in Hawaii are turning to heroin to support their addictions. Heroin is the best alternative they can find, but it's extremely dangerous. Many street drugs end up mixed with others, potentially leading to overdoses.

Living in Hawaii, you probably are aware that medical marijuana was legalized in 2000. Despite that, recreational use was never actually decriminalized, which can lead to issues with the law. Additionally, you're only allowed to grow up to seven plants if you have a medical condition that qualifies you for marijuana's use. It was only in 2015 that a new law passed to allow medical marijuana dispensaries.

Today, you might notice lots of people smoking marijuana in public, but despite that, it's still illegal. It's not unusual to see marijuana plants, and it's not hard to obtain the drug in the state.

Hawaii is a state with over 1.2 million people. It may not be a surprise that drug crimes, and others, take place on the Islands, especially since only 3,429 law enforcement officers are present on all eight islands in total.

One interesting fact about Hawaii is that all the normal mainland drugs can be found there. The most common drugs on the islands include crystal methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin, cocaine HCL, crack cocaine and predatory drugs.