Hawai'i: HB 302 CD 1 heads to Gov. Green — we’re urging a veto

Both the Hawai‘i Senate and House of Representatives approved HB 302 HD 2 SD 2 CD 1. While the bill makes some modest improvements to the medical cannabis program, the conference committee revised it to include alarmingly punitive and intrusive provisions.

We’re now urging Gov. Josh Green to veto the bill. If you live in Hawai'i, you can join us by sending a message here, calling him at (808) 586-0034, or contacting him on Instagram. 

On the positive side, the bill would allow medical cannabis certifications via telehealth and certifications for medical cannabis for any condition. However, the final bill (CD 1) weakened the latter provision and basically made it ineffective. Instead of allowing practitioners to certify cannabis for any condition, only one’s “primary treating medical provider” can do so under CD 1. The vast majority of physicians are not willing to — or allowed to — certify patients. Out of over 15,000 licensed physicians and APRNs in Hawai’i, only 241 are currently certifying patients.

In addition to weakening that positive provision, the final bill:

• Allows the state to inspect medical cannabis patients’ medical records from their certifying provider — absent any suspicion of wrongdoing. This is an alarming violation of health privacy.
• Increases criminalization of cannabis. Legislators ignored our request to remove provisions that create a new Class C felony for illegally operating a dispensary. It carries up to five years in prison.
• Diverts medical cannabis revenue to increase enforcement, appropriating $750,000 from the medical cannabis fund for six new enforcement agents. Our goal is to normalize and help legacy operators transition to the legal market, not to criminalize and stigmatize further.

Meanwhile, SB 1429 is also heading to Gov. Green. It removes the December 31, 2024, sunset on primary caregivers cultivating cannabis and allows each to grow for five patients at a time. However, the bill also includes new penalties, with civil fines of up to $5,000 for each violation. 

We will continue to fight for sensible and humane cannabis laws in Hawai‘i.