Hawai’i has considered legalization bills for years, but they have never made it past the finish line. It’s time to give voters a chance to stop punishing adults for relaxing with cannabis.

While the bill makes some modest improvements to the medical cannabis program, the conference committee revised it to include alarmingly punitive and intrusive provisions.

After letting advocates down on cannabis legalization and decriminalization earlier this year, the Hawai’i Legislature has the opportunity to advance cannabis justice and liberty in the context of medical cannabis.

We are extremely disappointed that the Hawai’i Senate has both failed to schedule committee hearings on legalization by the deadline and it narrowly voted down a decriminalization expansion bill (S.B. 319).

As we reflect on the past year, it's clear that the landscape of cannabis policy in the United States has continued to evolve.

On Monday, April 22nd, 2024, in a shocking turn of events, the Hawai’i Senate defeated the House-passed version of SB 2487, which would have expanded the state’s paltry decriminalization law. The Senate had previously approved an earlier version of SB 2487, 24-1. It had also passed full legalization, which died in the House Finance Committee.  Sen. Angus McKelvey was one of the 14 senators to flip from “yes” on March 5’s vote to “no” yesterday. He claimed, “The Senate sent a very good, reasonable…

On April 22nd, 2024, in a shocking turn of events, the Hawai’i Senate defeated the House-passed version of SB 2487, which would have expanded the state’s paltry decriminalization law. The Senate had previously approved an earlier version of SB 2487, 24-1. It had also passed full legalization, which died in the House Finance Committee.

We're sorry to report that Hawaii’s legalization bill has died without being scheduled for a hearing in House Finance. While this is disappointing, legalization got further this year than ever before and we’re not giving up until it crosses the finish line. The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. David Tarnas, is committed to continuing working on the bill and researching the issue in the interim.

These are some of the key states where we have the best shot to secure more victories in 2024!

Last week, the Hawaii Legislature adjourned its legislative session. The Hawaii Senate approved a legalization bill in 2021 that carried over to 2022. Unfortunately, the House never gave it a public hearing or a vote, and several other legalization bills died without a vote.