Hawaii is poised to expand medical marijuana dispensaries’ product offerings with the addition of popular edibles such as gummies and brownies.
The pivot comes under newly released industry interim rules from the Hawaii health department, which announced in a news release it had updated a range of regulations, including:
- Permitting the sale of new edibles products, including “gummies, hard molded confections made primarily from sugar or syrup, chocolates, cookies, brownies, honey, beverages, powdered beverage mixes or beverage additives, syrup beverage mixes or beverage additives.”
- Updated manufacturing practices and quality-control requirements.
- New lab-testing rules.
- A new prohibition on hemp product sales by licensed medical marijuana businesses but also an allowance that “hemp ingredients may be used as an ingredient in a manufactured cannabis product.”
The move comes almost two years after the Hawaii Legislature legalized MMJ edibles.
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The new rules went into effect Feb. 24, which means new edibles sales can begin as quickly as the state’s 18 vertically integrated MMJ licensees can have them on shelves.
However, the rules are still interim, so they could change further.
They will remain in effect until July 1, 2025, or until finalized regulations are adopted by the Hawaii health department, according to the release.
