STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2658

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2408

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 2408 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMPASSIONATE ACCESS TO MEDICAL CANNABIS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1) Allow terminally ill patients and qualifying patients over sixty-five years of age with chronic diseases to use medical cannabis within specified health care facilities under certain conditions; and

(2) Require enforcement by the Department of Health.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Manoa Botanicals, Drug Policy Forum of Hawaiʻi, and one individual.

Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Substance Abuse Coalition, Hina Mauka, and one individual.

Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General, Department of Health, Marijuana Policy Project, Hawaiʻi Alliance for Cannabis Reform, and one individual.

Your Committee finds that terminally ill patients and individuals of any age living with chronic disease should have immediate access to treatments that may provide comfort, dignity, and improved quality of life. Your Committee further finds that no other recommended treatment requires patients in crisis to navigate delays, additional administrative hurdles, or risk legal exposure before obtaining relief. This measure ensures timely access to recommended treatment options without unnecessary administrative barriers or legal uncertainty.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Inserting language to clarify that the term "health care facility" does not include a chemical dependency residential treatment center;

(2) Authorizing, rather than requiring, a health care facility to allow patient use of medical cannabis;

(3) Deleting language that would have prohibited a health care facility from prohibiting patient use of medical cannabis due solely to the fact that cannabis is a Schedule I drug pursuant to the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act or other federal constraints; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2408, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2408, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health and Human Services,

________________________________

JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair