Hawaii medical marijuana dispensaries soon could enjoy a boost in sales after regulators announced cardholders from other states now may register to buy MMJ during their visits.
The move eventually could become a big deal since Hawaii attracts nearly 10 million visitors annually, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
The state health department estimates that 5,000 out-of-state visitors will apply for a 60-day MMJ card in the first year of the reciprocity program.
Hawaii Educational Association for Therapeutic Healthcare, the state’s trade association for licensed dispensaries, said it was excited about the initiative, which it supported, and is preparing for an increase in demand for medical cannabis.
Hawaii’s medical marijuana program currently is modest, with just 23,746 patients as of Dec. 31, 2018, but is growing. The number of patients rose 17% last year.
MMJ applications for out-of-state patients are available here.
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This is great news and as many certifying providers in Hawaii know there are a lot of visitors coming to Hawaii that need and want to access their medicine while here. I do hope that as the program evolves we’ll see more conditions added to the Department of Health’s list of qualifying conditions because many mainland visitors have conditions that aren’t recognized in Hawaii.