If you haven’t noticed, the laws on cannabis change in each state every year. We understand that it can be hard to keep up with the times. We wanted to make things easy for you, and put all of the updates to the Hawaii Marijuana Laws in one place. Check out the newest information below!
Status: Mixed
Decriminalized: Reduced
Medical: Yes
Decriminalization Bill to Become Law Under Gov. Ige
Recently, the governor of Hawaii announced that he would let the decriminalization bill passed by the legislature to become law.
Beginning in January of 2020, the bill will reduce sentences for possession of 3 or less grams of marijuana, which would be a fine of $130. As of right now, if you are caught with the smallest amount of marijuana, you could face 30 days in jail, and fines near $1000.
This bill is definitely an improvement, even if 3 grams is the smallest amount of cannabis possession any state has decriminalized, it’s still a step forward.
No Advancement on Legalization of Adult-Use Marijuana in 2019
After the first hearing on cannabis legislation in almost 5 years, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a unanimous vote to approve the bill on legalization of marijuana for adults 21 and older. Unfortunately, the deadline passed before the bill could get a second panel, which ended the bill.
Update on the Medical Marijuana Program
Legislation was introduced a bill to expand the medical cannabis law, to allow disorders associated with opiates to join the qualifying list. in 2018, SB-2707 was approved by the Hawaii Legislature, but was unfortunately vetoed by the governor.
June 2018 – HB-2729 was signed into law by governor Ige, which would allow medical marijuana users in other state to use medical cannabis in Hawaii on vacation. The bill also improved the length of time medical cards would last to 3 years for certain conditions.
August 2017- The medical dispensaries in Hawaii began serving their first patients, just 2 years after the law had passed. It was also 17 years after the state became the first to enact legislation on medical cannabis law, instead of a ballot initiative.
That same year, HB-1488 strengthened the medical cannabis program by adding epilepsy, lupus, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis to the list of conditions to qualify. This bill also allowed caregivers and patients to access testing facilities. The amount of cultivated plants increased by 3 making the total 10.
We do our best to keep this updated, so stay tuned for more information on the Hawaii Marijuana Laws.
