Maui Sen. J. Kalani English said there is “no conflict” of interest as he votes and introduces bills on medical marijuana despite the fact that he is part of a hui seeking a medical marijuana dispensary license from the state.

English added that there was “not much to say” about his expunged cocaine possession case from 1988, as “legally I can say there is no conviction” because he completed court requirements to erase the charge from his record.

State Department of Health interim rules say that company members seeking a dispensary license cannot have felony convictions.

Questions about English participating in marijuana legislation and his expunged record surfaced in a Honolulu Star-Advertiser story Sunday.

English is a member of Maui-based Hawaii Medicinal Options, one of 15 companies applying for the state Health Department’s two marijuana dispensary licenses for Maui County. Overall, there are 59 companies that have applied for eight licenses statewide.

In a phone interview from Oahu on Tuesday, English said that he has long sought the legalization of marijuana and introduced “almost all of these bills” and has not wavered from this stance.

“All of them are very consistent,” he said of his bills and his stance to decriminalize marijuana that has a long history at the Legislature even prior to the dispensary laws.

As for the medical marijuana dispensary licenses, English acknowledges that the Legislature helped pass the law, but lawmakers are not part of its implementation.

“The application process is simply that. We have no control over that,” English said. “We don’t implement. I don’t have any (more) knowledge (of the application process.)”

English, whose district includes East and Upcountry Maui, Molokai and Lanai, added that he is not the applicant for the license and did not sign anything to apply. But he is a part of a hui that has submitted for the license. The applicant is Hawaii Medicinal Options LLC of Hana, with Alan Texeira as the individual applicant. Other officers include Patricia McIntyre, the living trust of state Sen. J. Kalani English and Winwright Corp., state records show.

English added, “This wasn’t my bill that created the current dispensary system.”

English likened his voting on marijuana matters to how other legislators who may be attorneys and engineers may vote on laws and projects in which they may be involved in or have ties to.

“We are part-time legislators. We are expected to have outside jobs.

There are many lawyers here that practice law, that pass laws,” English said.

He used as an example Gov. David Ige, an engineer who had worked for companies such as GTE Hawaiian Tel while serving in the Legislature.

“He passed laws and bills. I wouldn’t have done this if there was a conflict,” English said.

He added that job requirements as a legislator are to vote on issues.

“That’s our job,” he said.

State Ethics Commission officials could not be reached for comment on the matter, but Executive Director Les Kondo told the Star-Advertiser that lawmakers are exempt from conflict-of-interest restrictions regarding voting or participating officially in matters as legislators, according to the State Code of Ethics.

“Mahalo for confirming what I already know,” English said of the Star-Advertiser story.

In an email statement, Senate President Ron Kouchi said: “It is my understanding that Senator English has complied with all appropriate rules and disclosure requirements regarding his participation in an application for a medical marijuana dispensary license. Sen. English clearly understands his responsibility, and I trust he will continue to comply with the rules and requirements in properly fulfilling his legislative duties regarding any potential medical marijuana legislation.”

As for the expunged charge, English said that the incident occurred as he was just out of high school.

In a 1996 statement to the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, English said that he was a student who made a mistake and was given a second chance. The court required English to perform 50 hours of community service and complete two years of drug testing by the Adult Probation Division before his case was dismissed.

“Legally I can say there is no conviction,” English said this week, adding he had received a letter from the attorney general stating that with the expungement he can say under oath he doesn’t have a felony on his record.

Overall, English said he had hoped that “some of the small guys would have a chance” at obtaining a medical marijuana dispensary license, “not only the billionaires that apply.”

He said there are many prominent people that have applied for the licenses, “lot of very good people.”

“I hope that whoever gets it for Maui . . . does a stellar job.”

English said that many people who have prescriptions for medical marijuana reside in his districts of Upcountry and Haiku.

“I’m dead center of majority of where the licenses are,” he said. “That’s why I have been introducing these bills for so many years.”

English pointed to the benefits of legalizing marijuana overall, noting states that have legalized marijuana have seen their tax revenues gone up. Other benefits include job creation and sustainable agriculture.

He added that the state and East Maui in particular have the best marijuana cultivators, and he hated that that expertise was being used elsewhere and not in the islands.

* The Associated Press contributed to this report. Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.