STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1613

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 477

H.D. 2

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2021

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 477, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CANNABIS,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Authorize the Department of Health to allow a licensed dispensary to purchase up to three thousand grams of medical cannabis or manufactured cannabis products from another licensed dispensary to ensure ongoing qualifying patient access;

(2) Increase the allowable number of production centers and retail dispensing locations per dispensary license;

(3) Place certain limits on where qualifying patients can obtain medical cannabis or manufactured cannabis products after December 31, 2021;

(4) Authorize the Department of Health to set fee structures for the submission of applications for each additional production center and retail dispensing location and for dispensary-to-dispensary sales;

(5) Permit inspections of registered grow sites by the Department of Health or law enforcement to verify compliance with cannabis plant limits for cultivation by qualifying patients; and

(6) Limit dispensary-to-dispensary sales to those located on the same island, as long as federal law prohibits the transportation of medical cannabis over a body of water.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from Maui Grown Therapies; Aloha Green Holdings, Inc.; Big Island Grown Dispensaries; Hawai‘i Cannabis Industry Association; Green Aloha; Hawaiian Ethos; Forian BioTrack; and two individuals. Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from Complementary and Alternative Medicine on Oahu, Patients Without Time, Cannabis Society of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Cannabis Union, and twenty-seven individuals. Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health, Akamai Cannabis Clinic, and two individuals.

Your Committees find that as the State's medical cannabis dispensary system continues to develop, clarifying amendments are necessary to ensure smooth administration of the medical cannabis dispensary law and resolve issues that have arisen under existing law. This measure will enhance the State's medical cannabis dispensary program by strengthening patient access, improving product controls and safety, and refining the administration of the program.

Your Committees have amended this measure by making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 477, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 477, H.D. 2, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Ways and Means,

________________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair

________________________________ KARL RHOADS, Chair