SB1104 HD1

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that qualifying patients and primary caregivers cultivating cannabis for medical use at a registered grow site under the State's medical cannabis registry program have no legal means of obtaining safe, laboratory-tested genetic material from which to propagate their plants. State law on the medical use of cannabis currently authorizes qualifying patients to cultivate up to ten medical cannabis plants at a grow site listed on the patient's registry card, but it does not specify by what means propagules, cuttings, seeds, or other cannabis genetic material necessary to produce these plants may be obtained. In practice, qualifying patients or their primary caregivers must obtain cannabis genetic material from the illicit market. Unfortunately, these materials have not been tested for the presence of pesticides and heavy metals and are of unknown genetic provenance and therapeutic value.

The legislature also finds that in a number of other states that authorize the medical use of cannabis, cannabis propagules and cuttings are available for purchase through state-licensed dispensaries. These states ensure that patients who choose to cultivate their own cannabis plants have a legal channel from which to obtain safe, quality-assured genetic material with verified therapeutic properties.

The legislature further finds that the State's medical cannabis dispensary system law was enacted, in part, to improve qualifying patients' access to safe and quality-assured medical cannabis and medical cannabis products. However, state law does not explicitly authorize licensed dispensaries to distribute propagative material, including cannabis propagules, cuttings, or seeds.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to amend the State's medical cannabis dispensary system law to:

(1) Include cannabis propagules, cuttings, and seeds in the definition of "cannabis", thereby authorizing dispensaries to dispense cannabis propagules, cuttings, and seeds for medical use;

(2) Allow qualifying patients, primary caregivers who are authorized to cultivate cannabis for medical use, qualifying out-of-state patients, and caregivers of qualifying out-of-state patients to purchase cannabis propagules, cuttings, and seeds from a dispensary licensed in the State; and

(3) Establish quantity limits and quality requirements for the dispensing of cannabis propagules, cuttings, and seeds.

SECTION 2. Section 329-121, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "adequate supply for a qualifying out-of-state patient" to read as follows:

""Adequate supply for a qualifying out-of-state patient" means an amount of cannabis individually possessed by a qualifying out-of-state patient or jointly possessed by a qualifying out-of-state patient who is under eighteen years old and the caregiver of the qualifying out-of-state patient that is not more than is reasonably necessary to ensure the uninterrupted availability of cannabis for the purpose of alleviating the symptoms or effects of the qualifying out-of-state patient's debilitating medical condition; provided that an "adequate supply for a qualifying out-of-state patient" shall not exceed four ounces of usable cannabis at any given time and shall not include live plants[.], excluding cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, and cannabis seeds. The four ounces of usable cannabis shall include any combination of usable cannabis and manufactured cannabis products, as provided in chapter 329D; provided that the usable cannabis in the manufactured products shall be calculated using information provided pursuant to section 329D-9(c)."

SECTION 3. Section 329-122, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the medical use of cannabis within the State by a qualifying out-of-state patient aged eighteen years or older legally authorized to use cannabis for medical purposes in another state, a United States territory, or the District of Columbia shall be permitted only if the qualifying out-of-state patient:

(1) Provides to the department of health a valid medical use of cannabis card with an explicit expiration date that has not yet passed from the issuing jurisdiction and a valid photographic identification card or driver's license issued by the same jurisdiction;

(2) Attests under penalty of law pursuant to section 710-1063 that the condition for which the qualifying out-of-state patient is legally authorized to use cannabis for medical purposes is a debilitating medical condition as defined in section 329-121;

(3) Provides consent for the department of health to obtain information from the qualifying out-of-state patient's certifying medical provider and from the entity that issued the medical cannabis card for the purpose of allowing the department of health to verify the information provided in the registration process;

(4) Pays the required fee for out-of-state registration to use cannabis for medical purposes;

(5) Registers with the department of health pursuant to section 329-123.5 to use cannabis for medical purposes;

(6) Receives a medical cannabis registry card from the department of health; and

(7) Abides by all laws relating to the medical use of cannabis, including not possessing an amount of cannabis that exceeds an adequate supply[.] for a qualifying out-of-state patient."

SECTION 4. Section 329D-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

1. By adding two new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read:

""Cannabis cutting" means the stem of a cannabis plant that is taken or cut off for the purpose of being rooted and grown into a new cannabis plant.

"Cannabis propagule" means any part of a cannabis plant that can be used to grow a new cannabis plant."

2. By amending the definition of "cannabis" to read:

""Cannabis" shall have the same meaning as in section 329‑121. "Cannabis" includes cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, and cannabis seeds."

SECTION 5. Section 329D-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (k) to read as follows:

"(k) A dispensary licensed pursuant to this chapter shall purchase, operate, and maintain a computer software tracking system that shall:

(1) Interface with the department's computer software tracking system established pursuant to subsection (j);

(2) Allow each licensed dispensary's production center to submit to the department in real time, by automatic identification and data capture, all cannabis, cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, cannabis seeds, cannabis plants, and manufactured cannabis product inventory in possession of that dispensary from either seed or immature plant state, including all plants that are derived from cuttings or cloning, until the cannabis or manufactured cannabis product is sold or destroyed pursuant to section 329D-7;

(3) Allow the licensed dispensary's retail dispensing location to submit to the department in real time for the total amount of cannabis, cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, cannabis seeds, and manufactured cannabis product purchased by a qualifying patient, primary caregiver, qualifying out-of-state patient, and caregiver of a qualifying out-of-state patient from the dispensary's retail dispensing locations in the State in any fifteen day period; provided that the software tracking system shall impose an automatic stopper in real time, which cannot be overridden, on any further purchases of cannabis or manufactured cannabis products, if the maximum allowable amount of cannabis has already been purchased for the applicable fifteen day period; provided further that additional purchases shall not be permitted until the next applicable period; and

(4) Allow the licensed dispensary to submit all data required by this subsection to the department and permit the department to access the data if the department's computer software tracking system is not functioning properly and sales are made pursuant to the alternate tracking system under subsection (j)."

SECTION 6. Section 329D-13, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§329D-13 Dispensing of cannabis; propagative material; quantity limits[.]; quality restrictions; rules. (a) A qualifying patient, primary caregiver, qualifying out-of-state patient, or caregiver of a qualifying out-of-state patient shall be allowed to purchase no more than four ounces of cannabis within a consecutive period of fifteen days, or no more than eight ounces of cannabis within a consecutive period of thirty days.

(b) A qualifying patient, primary caregiver[,] who is authorized to cultivate cannabis pursuant to sections 329-122 and 329‑130(a), qualifying out-of-state patient, or caregiver of a qualifying out-of-state patient may purchase [~~cannabis~~] a total of no more than five cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, or cannabis seeds within a period of fifteen consecutive days, or a total of no more than ten cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, or cannabis seeds within a period of thirty consecutive days; provided that:

(1) The amount of cannabis possessed by:

(A) The qualifying patient at any time shall not exceed an adequate supply, as defined in section 329-121; or

(B) The qualifying out-of-state patient at any time shall not exceed an adequate supply for a qualifying out-of-state patient, as defined in section 329-121;

(2) The cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, or cannabis seeds dispensed to the qualifying patient, primary caregiver, qualifying out-of-state patient, or caregiver of a qualifying out-of-state patient shall have undergone laboratory-based testing for residual pesticides and heavy metals; and

(3) The laboratory-based test results indicate that no pesticides or heavy metals have been detected in the cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, or cannabis seeds.

(c) The purchase of cannabis pursuant to subsection (a) and the purchase of cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, and cannabis seeds pursuant to subsection (b) may be made from any dispensary location in the State, subject to the quantity limits [~~set forth~~] and quality restrictions described in [~~subsection~~] subsections (a)[.] and (b), as applicable.

[~~(c) Beginning on January 1, 2018, this~~] (d) This section may apply to qualifying out-of-state patients from other states, territories of the United States, or the District of Columbia[;], who are attempting to purchase cannabis; provided that the patient meets the registration requirements of section 329-123.5.

(e) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 regarding the dispensing of cannabis propagules, cannabis cuttings, and cannabis seeds."

SECTION 7. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect on June 30, 3000.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1104
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1