CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 235-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 2260

H.D. 1

S.D. 2

C.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sirs:

Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 2260, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CANNABIS,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Amend the circumstances under which medical cannabis may be transported by and between dispensaries;

(2) Increase the allowable number of plants for production centers;

(3) Increase the number of production centers that may be allowed under a dispensary license;

(4) Increase the number of retail dispensing locations that may be allowed under a dispensary license; and

(5) Redefine the term "medical cannabis production center" to include any series of structures located within the same secured perimeter fence-line.

Your Committee on Conference finds that the State's Medical Cannabis Dispensary Program was established to ensure that qualifying patients have safe and legal access to medical cannabis. Your Committee on Conference also finds that the Medical Cannabis Dispensary Program needs to be updated to increase access to medical cannabis in rural areas, provide the Department of Health with improved administrative control, and increase the supply of medical cannabis in the State.

Your Committee on Conference further finds that to ensure that the existing medical dispensary licensing framework sufficiently meets the needs of qualifying patients in a cost-effective manner, an assessment of the dispensary licensing framework is necessary. In order to maintain the status quo while the assessment is being conducted, an extension of the deadline by which primary caregivers can no longer cultivate cannabis for a qualifying patient is therefore necessary.

Accordingly, your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

(1) Extending the date after which a primary caregiver is no longer authorized to cultivate cannabis for a qualifying patient to December 31, 2024;

(2) Deleting provisions that would have increased the number of retail dispensing locations allowed under a dispensary license;

(3) Limiting licensees to no more than fifteen thousand cannabis plants in total across all of the licensee's production centers;

(4) Requiring the Department of Health to establish the fee structure for the submission of applications for additional production centers and for dispensary-to-dispensary sales;

(5) Permitting a selling dispensary to transport no more than eight hundred ounces of cannabis or manufactured cannabis products to a purchasing dispensary within a thirty-day period;

(6) Inserting an appropriation amount of $50,000 for an assessment of the medical cannabis dispensary licensing framework by the Department of Health;

(7) Changing its effective date to July 1, 2022; and

(8) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2260, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2260, H.D. 1, S.D. 2, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

ON THE PART OF THE SENATE	ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE
____________________________ JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE Chair	____________________________ RYAN I. YAMANE Co-Chair
____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER Co-Chair	____________________________ AARON LING JOHANSON Co-Chair
____________________________ KARL RHOADS Co-Chair	____________________________ ADRIAN K. TAM Co-Chair
____________________________ DRU KANUHA Co-Chair