A push is underway in the Hawaii Legislature to expand the state’s medical marijuana program after efforts to legalize adult-use again failed to advance.
According to Hawaii News Now, bills in the Senate and the much more conservative House contain several provisions aimed to boost enrollment in the MMJ program while thwarting unlicensed and unregulated supply channels.
Proposals include:
- Allowing medical professionals to recommend cannabis for patients instead of adhering to a restrictive list of qualifying conditions.
- Allowing licensed cultivators to wholesale medical marijuana products directly to retailers.
- Adding dispensaries in rural areas.
Another bill would boost enforcement of illegal CBD stores by requiring licenses, seizing products containing THC and shuttering such establishments, Hawaii News Now reported.
All the legislation, according to lawmakers, is designed to prop up the state’s stagnant MMJ market.
The number of registered medical patients in Hawaii has been gradually falling since at least September 2023.
At the end of February, there were 29,820 in-state patients, down from 31,581 in February 2024, or roughly 5.5%, according to the latest statistics from the state’s health department.
