Hawai'i
30,811
Registered Patient Population |
2.17%
of Total Population Represented by Patients |
13
Total Medical Retail Locations Currently in Operation |
2,370 : 1
Patients : Retail |
Medical cannabis is legal in Hawaii, patients and caregivers may purchase from a dispensary or cultivate up to seven plants at home. Possession for patients and caregivers is limited to 4 ounces. Patients report access issues stemming from limited dispensaries, with some islands lacking one entirely. Patients visiting Hawaii can apply online for a 60 day registration card; the card costs a $49.50 fee and allows visitors to shop at Hawaii’s dispensaries.
 Patient Rights and Civil Protection |
94/100 |
|
| Arrest Protection |
40/40 |
| Affirmative Defense |
15/15 |
| Parental Rights Protections |
10/10 |
| DUI Protections |
0/5 |
| Employment Protections |
5/5 |
| Explicit Privacy Standards |
7/7 |
| Housing Protections |
5/5 |
| Does Not Create New Criminal Penalties for Patients |
4/5 |
| Organ Transplants |
5/5 |
| Reciprocity |
3/3 |
|
|
Access to Medicine |
82/100 |
|
| Allows Distribution Programs |
27/40 |
| – Allows Access to Dried Flowers |
15/15 |
| – Allows Delivery |
0/5 |
| – No Sales Tax or Reasonable Sales Tax |
4/5 |
| – Allows for a Reasonable Number of Dispensaries |
5/5 |
| – Does Not Require Vertical Integration |
0/2 |
| – Ownership/Employment Restrictions |
1/2 |
| – Provisions for Labor Standards |
0/2 |
| – Environmental Impact Regulations |
0/2 |
| – Choice of Dispensary Without Restrictions |
2/2 |
| Noncommercial Cultivation |
18/20 |
| – Personal Cultivation |
15/15 |
| – Collective Gardening |
3/5 |
| Explicit Right to Edibles/Concentrates/Other Forms |
10/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans or Limits on THC |
10/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans on CBD |
10/10 |
| Local Bans/Zoning |
7/10 |
|
|
Ease of Navigation |
94/100 |
|
| Comprehensive Qualifying Conditions |
48/50 |
| Adding New Conditions |
9/10 |
| – Law/Regulations Allow for New Conditions |
5/5 |
| – System Works for Adding New Conditions |
4/5 |
| Reasonable Access for Minors |
9/10 |
| Reasonable Caregiver Background Checks |
4/4 |
| Number of Caregivers |
2/2 |
| Patient/Practitioner-Focused Task Force or Advisory Board |
2/2 |
| Reasonable Fees (Patients and Caregivers) |
9/10 |
| Allows Multiple-Year Registrations |
2/2 |
| Reasonable Physician Requirements |
4/5 |
| Does Not Classify Cannabis as a Medicine of Last Resort |
5/5 |
|
|
Functionality |
83/100 |
|
| Patients Able to Access Medicine at Dispensaries or by Cultivation |
45/50 |
| No Significant Administrative or Supply Problems |
14/15 |
| Patients Can Receive Legal Protections Within Reasonable Time Frame of Doctor's Recommendation |
7/10 |
| Reasonable Possession Limits |
5/5 |
| Reasonable Purchase Limits |
4/5 |
| Allows Patients to Medicate Where They Choose |
4/5 |
| Covered by Insurance/State Health Aid |
0/3 |
| Financial Hardship (Fee Waivers/Discount Medicine) |
4/7 |
|
|
Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements |
78.18/100 |
|
| Dispensing |
18.34/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility Sanitary Conditions |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Inventory Control |
1.25/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Product Labeling |
3.34/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency/Compound Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
5/5 |
| – Active Compound Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Contaminants |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Potency |
1.67/1.67 |
| Grow/Cultivation |
18.5/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Storage Protocols (Short-Term and Long-Term Storage) |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Water Management |
0.71/0.71 |
| Pesticide Guidance |
3.5/5 |
| – Pesticide Guidance |
2.5/2.5 |
| – Pesticide Labeling |
1/2.5 |
| Required Testing |
5/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Contaminants |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Potency |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Sample Retention |
1.25/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Manufacturing |
17.34/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
1/1 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
1/1 |
| Product Labeling |
3.34/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency and Compound Information |
1.67/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
4/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1 |
| – Contaminants |
1/1 |
| – Potency |
1/1 |
| – Shelf Life Testing |
0/1 |
| – Sample Retention |
1/1 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
0/5 |
| Laboratory Operations |
24/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Method Validation in Accordance with AHPA Guidelines |
5/5 |
| Result Reporting |
4/5 |
| Independent or Third Party |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures and Protocols |
5/5 |
| – Equipment and Instrument Calibration |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Sample Tracking |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Storage Protocols |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0.83/0.83 |
|
|
Covid Response |
10/20
|
|
| Delivery Available? |
0/6
|
| Curbside Pickup Available? |
0/2
|
| Medical Cannabis Essential? |
7/7
|
| Telemedicine Available? |
3/5
|
|
| Excerpted from ASA's 2020 State of the States Report. |
In This Section
Patients may designate a caregiver to assist with acquiring, cultivating and using medical cannabis.
In June of 2000, Hawaii passed SB 862 HD1, making Hawaii the first state to legalize medical use cannabis via the legislature, as opposed to voter initiative. The law is codified as Hawaii Revised Statutes §329-121 et seq.
A doctor may recommend marijuana to a seriously ill patient, providing the patient with protection from criminal conviction for marijuana use under Hawaii law. Hawaii also has a registry ID card system for patients which should ordinarily prevent a patient from being arrested for marijuana use. A primary caregiver may help a medical marijuana patient cultivate and ingest their medicine.
Medical professionals recommending medical cannabis must be licensed under Chapters 453 and 460, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and licensed with authority to prescribe drugs and is registered under section 329-32, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
The State of Medical Marijuana in Hawaii
