HILO — Hawaii’s newly selected medical marijuana dispensary operators could be permitted to grow under natural sunlight, and advanced practice registered nurses might be allowed to certify new patients.
Those and other proposed changes to the dispensary law are included in the omnibus House Bill 2707, which is awaiting Gov. David Ige’s approval.
Industry proponents say the bill’s various amendments help make the state’s tightly regulated dispensary system easier for patients to navigate — and access.
For example, allowing advanced practice registered nurses the ability to certify patients would encourage more people to get registered into the program. A vast majority of Hawaii’s patients are certified by a handful of physicians.
And adding the definition of “enclosed indoor facility” theoretically allows greenhouses to serve as marijuana grow centers. The bill states that a grow facility’s roof can be be “partially or completely transparent or translucent.”
State Sen. Russell Ruderman, D-Puna, had proposed a now-dead bill earlier this year which would have similarly allowed licensees to grow in greenhouses. Proponents say doing so will lower dispensary operating costs, as Hawaii has the highest electricity prices in the nation.
The bill sent to the governor, however, requires licensees to notify the state Department of Health prior to building or changing the translucent-roof facility.
The bill also expands the list of marijuana products a patient can legally purchase, though notably it excludes marijuana cigarettes; provides dispensaries a form of state tax relief; calls for creation of a “legislative working group” to oversee and recommend legislation to improve the system; and allows for interisland transport of medical marijuana for testing purposes, as it’s currently unknown how many — and where — state-authorized testing labs will open.
Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, D-Puna, who co-signed the bill, lauded its success but said there are parts of the law she would like to revisit during next year’s legislative session.
For example, she said she’d push to add marijuana cigarettes as a product patients can use and remove a law which makes it a felony for non-patients to even visit a dispensary. As soon as dispensaries open, “people are going to be curious,” she said.
“I want to be able to ensure everyone is on the same page, both law enforcement and the DOH,” she said. “We want to ensure (the system) is more patient oriented and the patients themselves are not going to be treated as criminals. And those who are prescribing marijuana … of course they’ll be scrutinized, but we want to make sure it’s not unduly harsh.”
