Last month, a cannabis producer and dispensary owner in Hawaii made a small amount of history by completing the nation’s first legal inter-island medical marijuana transfer since the state set up a dispensary network in 2016.
A recent state law change, which took effect in August, allowed the transaction to be completed legally. Hawaii had previously prohibited inter-island transfer, citing federal authority over the airspace and waters around the islands. The federal law prohibits the use and possession cannabis, but Hawaii changed its policy after concerns over federal interference with state-licensed marijuana programmes diminished.
In September, Big Island Grown announced that it had made two wholesale transfers from the Big Island of medical cannabis to retailers on Kauai. This was the first month in which such transfers between islands were permitted under the state law signed by Governor. Josh Green (D), in June.
Jaclyn Moor, co-founder and CEO of Marijuana Moment, told Marijuana Moment this week that “we completed the first wholesale deliveries in state history on September 1,”. “We’re in every dispensary now on Kauai.”
She added, “We are now looking at Maui and Oahu.” “Every island that has a dispensary.”
Moore, in an interview with this week, was still reticent about certain details.
She jokingly said, “It’s just falling out of the sky”, avoiding a question on whether cannabis products are transported by plane, boat or any other method.
She explained that “the Department of Health of the State does not prescribe how this is actually done.” What they prescribe is the responsible method of ensuring, through tracking systems, that it continues to be monitored.
Moore, who is the government policy chairman for the Hawai’i Cannabis Industry Association and also the health department’s spokesperson, said that “the state law, and its protections, do not affect the federal law or its enforcement.”
Federal regulations prohibit the inter-island sale of marijuana. But recent changes in state law, passed as part of a cannabis omnibus bill, accelerated the removal of Hawaii’s own prohibition on such transfers by allowing regulated dispensary-to-dispensary sales.
A separate bill was signed into law by Gov. David Ige’s HB 22260 in 2022 technically allowed such transfers. However, Moore stated that the rulemaking process would likely take years. The new rules were enacted through a streamlined process, and went into effect on August 7.
Ige rejected an inter-island marijuana bill earlier in 2019. In a veto, Ige said that “airspace and some areas of water are under the exclusive jurisdiction” of the federal government and that the passage of the bill would lead people “erroneously to believe that they are immune from federal prosecutor.”
The federal government has jurisdiction over the airspace surrounding Hawaii and a large part of the Pacific Ocean.
Moore, a pharmacist, said that the medical marijuana industry in Hawaii pushed for state restrictions to be loosened on inter-island cannabis trading to ensure all residents of Hawaii had access to safe products. She said that the need for clean, tested cannabis-based products is what drives the industry to push to expand the legal system in Hawaii.
Nikos Leverenz of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai’i and Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center acknowledged the inter-island exchange as a milestone. In an email sent to Marijuana Moment he stressed that the access to products from off-island was only one part of protecting medical marijuana users.
Leverenz stated that it was a positive development for Hawaii’s dispensaries, to be able offer cannabis flowers and products from other dispensaries in their retail locations. “Policymakers still have many unfinished tasks when it comes medical cannabis. This includes ensuring hospice patients can access cannabis tinctures, edibles, and employment protections.
He noted that two previous legislative groups had recommended employment protections, including the Dual-Use Cannabis Task Force, which met last year.
Leverenz added, “As Hawaii moves towards adult-use legalization current dispensaries must also be able to offer cannabis flower from smaller legacy growers who are authorized.” Hawaii’s cannabis industry is growing and requires more participation. Small-scale local producers should be given priority to meet the needs of current and future consumers.
He also asked that the state decriminalize cannabis of at least one ounce “that is not subject to any fine or penalty” and to exempt all cannabis paraphernalia from the drug paraphernalia laws in the state “should this code section be left intact.”
Hawaii’s Senate approved a law legalizing adult use earlier this year. However, the measure eventually failed in the House. The advocates are now focusing on 2024 in order to pass the law during the second half the two-year session.
The Senate amended the bill in to include expungements. Rep. Jeanne Kapela, , who sponsored another legalization bill which did not progress said that the amended proposal represents “an incredible compromise.”
In April, the state legislature approved a Resolution asking Governor to create a marijuana Clemency Program.
In August , the first meeting of a state task force on psychedelics was held. Experts are working to prepare for a possible regulated access by the state to novel therapies such as psilocybin or MDMA.
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