Saying changes need to be made to reduce their pain and inconvenience, patients and caregivers testified Wednesday evening in favor of establishing statewide medical marijuana dispensaries.

But at least a few residents, including a physician, advised that the dispensaries should be centralized and that marijuana in its various forms should be kept out of the hands of children and put in child-proof containers, in view of some research that shows its early use can hamper brain development.

More than 70 people attended the public meeting held by the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force at the state Capitol auditorium.

The task force has been authorized by a state House-Senate resolution to develop recommendations for establishing a statewide dispensary system for medical marijuana.

Nanakuli resident Alejandro Tolentino said physicians have been discouraged from recommending patients receive marijuana medical cards and he’s recently had difficulty finding a physician to renew his card.

Tolentino, who suffers chronic pain in his neck and lower spine, said he also was against taxing patients who use marijuana. "I’m on Social Security," he said.

Makakilo resident Vernon Drury said he takes so much marijuana to reduce his pain that he’d like to see the state legalize its use, rather than "beating around the bushes."

Marijuana advocate Roger Christie, who is in a halfway house after serving five years on marijuana trafficking and income tax evasion convictions, spoke about the health benefits of marijuana and said the state laws are outdated.

"We need a radical shift in (marijuana) laws from illegal to essential," said Christie, a pastor with a church that uses marijuana as a sacrament.

Hawaii was the first state to pass a state law approving the use of medical marijuana in 2000, recognizing some patients may benefit from the drug by reducing their nausea and pain and increasing their appetite.

Under the Hawaii law, qualified patients need to be certified by a physician as having a medical condition that would benefit from the medical use of marijuana and receive a valid registry identification certificate.

But according to a state Legislative Reference Bureau report released earlier this year, access is limited to the patient or caregiver growing a limited amount of marijuana.

Also, under the current program qualified patients do not receive a supply of marijuana seeds or plants, or a legal means to purchase them as the sale of marijuana is prohibited under state law.

The bureau’s report said of the 23 states that have medical marijuana programs, 10 allow patients to cultivate marijuana and provide for medical marijuana dispensaries.