Following a close 25–23 vote on the Hawaii House floor last week to keep a marijuana legalization bill alive, lawmakers now face a Thursday deadline to pass a bill out of the chamber’s Finance Committee, where some observers expect the proposal to receive a chilly reception if it’s taken up later this week. Legalization advocates at the group Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) asked supporters in an email on Monday to contact House Speaker Scott Saiki (D) and Rep. Kyle Yamashita (D),… Read more.
Hawaii House lawmakers in two key committees this week voted to advance the Senate-passed cannabis legalization bill, Marijuana Moment reports. The proposal passed the Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee 7-3 and the Agriculture and Food Systems Committee 5-1. The bill seeks to legalize adult-use cannabis possession starting January 1, 2026, and would regulate the cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution of cannabis products. The House amendments so far include reducing the penalty for selling cannabis to a minor from a felony to a misdemeanor,… Read more.
Hawaii’s House on Tuesday passed a bill to create a free, state-initiated, process for expunging certain criminal records, including arrests and convictions for promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree, Honolulu Civil Beat reports. The measure could expunge charges for more than 36,000 people arrested in the state for possessing less than 3 grams of cannabis, an offense decriminalized in 2019. There are more than 53,000 arrest records under the promoting a detrimental drug statute in the state’s criminal database but only about 10,000… Read more.
A pair of Senate committees in Hawaii has advanced a bill that would legalize marijuana in the state, adopting a number of amendments to the underlying proposal before sending it to the chamber floor where a vote is expected next week. Last year the Senate passed a separate legalization bill that later stalled the House, but advocates are hopeful this year’s proposal could get further. Gov. Josh Green (D) said last month that legalization is a “big social issue that remains” to… Read more.
Hawaii’s attorney general is clarifying that despite unveiling a draft marijuana legalization bill in November and subsequently defending the proposal against criticism from law enforcement, her office does not, in fact, support legalizing cannabis for adult use. But the office also won’t actively work to oppose it the reform—as long as any legislation that is advancing contains several “key elements.” On Friday, Attorney General Anne Lopez’s (D) office sent lawmakers a revised 315-page draft bill to legalize cannabis as well as 38-page report… Read more.
A handful of medical cannabis companies in Hawaii are selling and delivering wholesale flower and other marijuana products from one island to another, a first for the state and a rare sales route anywhere in the U.S. Island hopping by plane, helicopter or boat is common for visitors and residents traversing the region, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean that encompasses a land area totaling more than 6,000 miles. And now the state’s medical marijuana industry is hopping aboard to… Read more.
Following voters' narrow approval of a measure on the 2022 November ballot, Colorado became the second state in the U.S. to legalize the use of psychedelic drugs. This decision indicates the increasing acceptance and use of psychedelic substances nationwide. So far, a dozen counties and cities in the U.S. have decriminalized psilocybin or psilocin, two psychedelic compounds found in "magic mushrooms." As we covered at the Benzinga Psychedelics Show in Miami, what states are more being more progressive about LSD, mushrooms, and… Read more.
The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) says that it would be prudent for the state to legalize certain psychedelics like psilocybin and MDMA to prepare for a likely federal policy change allowing their use for medical treatment. At a hearing before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week, DOH testified on a pair of resolutions that call for the establishment of an advisory council to study and make recommendations on approving psychedelic medicines. Members of the panel ultimately… Read more.
Hawaii will have to wait at least another year before marijuana legalization comes to the islands, after a legislative proposal stalled in the state House of Representatives. Earlier this month, the Hawaii state Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass the bill, which would legalize adult-use cannabis and establish the regulatory framework for a recreational marijuana market. But that bill “was not scheduled for a state House hearing before a key legislative deadline,” according to MJBizDaily, which means that the proposal is likely dead for 2023. … Read more.
A Hawaii Senate committee approved a House-passed bill on Wednesday that would create an advisory council to look into possible regulations to provide access to federal “breakthrough therapies” like psilocybin and MDMA. The psychedelics legislation from Rep. Adrian Tam (D) advanced, with amendments, in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee in a 5-0 vote. Members took testimony from advocates and experts, including a representative of the Department of Health, which voiced support for the proposal. All 20 people and organizations that… Read more.
A Hawaii Senate-passed bill to legalize marijuana has stalled out in the House for the year—but advocates are shifting focus to 2024, hoping to enact the reform in the second half of the two-year legislative session. The legislation from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D) cleared the Senate earlier this month, and hopes were high that it’d make it through the House as well. But a hearing wasn’t scheduled before a deadline for bills that have been referred to three or more… Read more.
Oklahoma voters rejected a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use during a special election this month by a margin of 62 percent, surprising many advocates who saw the popularity of the state’s medical market as a promising sign for adult-use expansion. Ultimately, the state’s medical program proved to be good enough for a majority of voters outside Oklahoma City and Tulsa. But the push to expand domestic cannabis legalization in 2023 is far from over. “For 2024, we’ve calculated Virginia,… Read more.
After witnessing a blowout loss in Oklahoma on Tuesday, advocates of adult-use marijuana legalization are turning their attention to brighter prospects in Hawaii and Delaware. Legalization bills are marching through legislatures in both states, with support from the governor in Hawaii and a veto-proof legislative majority in Delaware, where lawmakers in the state House on Thursday advanced an adult-use legalization bill for the first time. However, observers cautioned final passage isn’t assured in either state. The two relatively small states… Read more.
Hawaii Senate voted Tuesday in favor (22-3) of SB 669, a cannabis legalization bill sponsored by state senate Democrats Stanley Chang, Jarrett Keohokalole, Angus McKelvey and Joy San Buenaventura. The legislation will now proceed to the House for consideration and possible amendments. “For years, advocates have been working to pass legislation to sensibly legalize cannabis in Hawaii. Now that this bill has advanced out of the Senate, Hawaii is one step closer to becoming the next state to end cannabis prohibition,” said Hawaii resident DeVaughn Ward, senior… Read more.
The Hawaii Senate voted 22-3 in favor of an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal yesterday; the measure moves next to the House. The Hawaii Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed an adult-use legalization bill by a 22-3 margin. The measure still requires approval in the House. If enacted, the legislation would legalize possession of up to 30 grams by adults, reduce penalties for unlicensed cultivation and sales, allow adults to cultivate up to six plants within their residence, and expunge records for possession. The measure would also establish a Hawaii… Read more.