Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green on Monday said caregivers should still be allowed to provide medical cannabis to qualified patients.
Hawaii’s caregiver program, which has 2,628 caregivers, according to MJBizDaily, serves patients who can’t grow cannabis at home or do not shop at eight state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.
But under the current state law that covers controlled substances, that care would be illegal effective Wednesday, the beginning of the new year.
Some medical marijuana patients do not obtain their medicine from dispensaries and would be impacted if a law goes into effect Wednesday. Aloha Green Apothecary is one of eight medical cannabis dispensaries statewide. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023)
Green’s executive order calls on the Department of Health to not pursue action against caregivers. The governor, a medical doctor, is concerned about “negative health outcomes” due to “undue enforcement” of the law, according to a press release Monday.
Green said the department has been instructed to “not use resources” to address situations where a caregiver is cultivating cannabis for a medical marijuana patient.
“This will allow primary caregivers to continue to perform their duties without fear of enforcement from the Department of Health,” the press release said.
DOH Director Kenneth Fink and Attorney General Anne Lopez support the governor’s order.
Hawaiʻi News Now reported last month that some lawmakers realized the law they crafted was in error and that they would work to fix it as soon as next session.
“It really was a failure that we did not address this impending deadline, and now we have the crisis upon us,” House Public Safety Committee Chair Rep. Della Au Belatti told HNN.
Green urged the Legislature, which convenes Jan. 15, to fix the law.
Medical use of marijuana has been allowed in Hawaiʻi since 2000. Bills to legalize recreational use of the drug failed in the 2024 legislative session.
That legislation is also expected to be revisited in January, though it is opposed by some local prosecutors and police.
Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green on Monday said caregivers should still be allowed to provide medical cannabis to qualified patients. Hawaii’s caregiver program, which has 2,628 caregivers, according to MJBizDaily, serves patients who can’t grow cannabis at home or do not shop at eight state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. But under the current state law that covers Read More
