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A marijuana legalization measure unveiled in draft form last year by Hawaii\u2019s attorney general<\/a> has now been formally introduced in the legislature, with companion bills filed in both House and Senate. Advocates, however, say the latest version needs major changes to shift the plan\u2019s focus away from law enforcement and allow for the clearing of past cannabis convictions to provide relief to those most harmed by prohibition.<\/p>\n Led by Rep. David Tarnas (D) in the House and Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole (D) in the Senate, the bill is largely the product of Attorney General Anne Lopez (D) and her staff. During a confirmation hearing last April, she committed to leading an administrative task force<\/a> \u201cbetween now and next legislative legislative session to develop a complete regulatory and law enforcement legislative package that you can attach to any bill if you\u2019re planning to legalize marijuana\u201d\u2014a commitment that led to the new bills: HB 2600 and SB 3335.<\/p>\n Momentum to legalize cannabis has been building for years in Hawaii, and earlier this month, the Senate\u2019s majority Democratic leadership listed the reform as one of its top legislative priorities for the current session<\/a>. The chamber passed marijuana legalization bills in 2021 and 2023 that later stalled in the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n The new 328-page bills landed with notable support last week, with nine other co-sponsors besides Keohokalole in the Senate and 16 others aside from Tarnas in the House. But in the advocacy community, the measures have been met with mixed reviews.<\/p>\n \u201cGenerally speaking, the bill provides a sound floorplan for adult-use legalization but erects a structure that is still far too punitive in its approach,\u201d Nikos Leverenz, of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai\u2019i and the Hawai\u2019i Health and Harm Reduction Center, told Marijuana Moment in an email this week. \u201cPlacing a velvet glove of legalization on law enforcement\u2019s iron hand is not what is called for.\u201d<\/p>\n As introduced, the proposal would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of cannabis and up to five grams of concentrates as of January 1, 2026. Home cultivation would be legal, with adults allowed to grow up to six plants and keep as much as 10 ounces of resulting marijuana.<\/p>\n The measures would create the Hawaii Cannabis Authority to license and regulate adult-use cannabis businesses. That body would be overseen by a five-member appointed Cannabis Control Board, led by an executive director who would need to have experience in public health or cannabis regulation.<\/p>\n Cultivators, processors, medical dispensaries, adult-use retailers, craft dispensaries and independent testing laboratories would be licensed under the plan, with regulators able to adopt rules around special events, social consumption and other special use cases.<\/p>\n Adult-use cannabis would be taxed at a relatively moderate 10 percent in addition to Hawaii\u2019s 4 percent general state excise tax.<\/p>\n Advocates, however, are criticizing the bill for what they say is an overly strict approach to the change, pointing to new criminal laws that would affect minors as well as restrictions that could risk perpetuating the harms of the drug war, such as the bill\u2019s explicit assertion that the smell of marijuana can be used to justify searches.<\/p>\n Karen O\u2019Keefe, director of state policies for Marijuana Policy Project, which recently released a summary<\/a> of the new legislation, said the bills<\/a> as introduced<\/a> \u201cmight actually do more harm than good to the cause of cannabis justice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cLegalization should mean fewer cannabis arrests, not more,\u201d O\u2019Keefe told Marijuana Moment, arguing that the policy change \u201cshould include the clearing of criminal records for cannabis and reinvestment in hard hit communities. Instead, these bills ramp up cannabis-specific law enforcement and impose jail time for innocuous behavior that harms no one, including driving long after impairment wears off and having a previously opened jar of edibles in the passenger area of a car.\u201d<\/p>\n Anyone who possesses an open package of marijuana or loose flower in the passenger area of a vehicle, for example, could face up to 30 days in jail. Minors could also be hit with criminal charges, though the bill includes provisions for probation and deferred prosecution, and convictions would be eligible for expungement once sentences are complete.<\/p>\n Broader expungement provisions for people with existing marijuana convictions on their records, however, don\u2019t exist in the bill drafted by Lopez\u2019s office.<\/p>\n The current plan would also create a cannabis enforcement unit as well as a separate drug nuisance abatement unit within the attorney general\u2019s office, with at least 25 new positions between the two groups. A new cannabis enforcement special fund and nuisance abatement fund would each receive 7.5 percent of marijuana tax revenue.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it\u2019s past time Hawai\u2019i end cannabis prohibition,\u201d O\u2019Keefe said, the legislature \u201cneeds to significantly revise the AG-drafted bills.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the attorney general sent a revised draft of the legislation to lawmakers<\/a>, releasing a public preview that outlined the bill\u2019s main themes. Lopez said at the time that the bill \u201crepresents our best judgment about how to promote a legal market, minimize risks of societal harm, mitigate damage that does come to pass, avoid liability, and provide workable tools and substantial resources for law enforcement and public-health officials to promote the public welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n While Lopez\u2019s office is officially neutral on the bill, a press release emphasized that the department \u201cdoes not support the legalization of adult-use cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGiven that the legislature could theoretically pass a bill as early as this year,\u201d a statement from Lopez said, \u201cit is my department\u2019s duty to warn the Legislature of the risks, while simultaneously providing a framework that includes robust public-safety and public-health safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n In a clarifying statement to Marijuana Moment, a spokesperson for the attorney general said: \u201cThe department does not support legalization of cannabis, but will remain neutral on the question of the bill\u2019s passage, so long as the bill contains the key elements identified in the report and does not include provisions antithetical to these elements, as it may be amended through the legislative process.\u201d<\/p>\n Many, however, are expecting lawmakers to take an active role in adjusting the proposal over the course of the legislative session.<\/p>\n Leverenz of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai\u2019i said that as far as advocates have been able to gather, \u201cit\u2019s foreseeable for the Senate to again take the lead on moving a bill out of its chamber, hopefully with substantial amendments.\u201d Amid a broader cultural and legal shift away from prohibition, he said, Hawaii should focus on issues like restricting youth access and accurately label of consumer products, not stepping up enforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes little sense to maintain a law enforcement infrastructure that has every incentive to maximize continued criminalization, which will fall disproportionately on Black, Native Hawaiian, and Pasifika communities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Leverenz said the bills\u2019 lead sponsors have been active in engaging with both advocates and other lawmakers, leaving room for the chance that there could be changes ahead.<\/p>\n Sen. Keohokalole \u201chas been especially candid and receptive to having a regulatory landscape that promotes broad participation by smaller farmers and businesses,\u201d he said, while \u201cHouse Judiciary Chair David Tarnas has worked diligently to engage in continued dialog with advocates and his legislative colleagues, bringing forward many changes to the AG\u2019s first draft.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe AG\u2019s second draft doesn\u2019t include many of them,\u201d Leverenz added of the latest version, though he acknowledged that Tarnas has separately introduced legislation that would decriminalize up to an ounce of marijuana and exempt cannabis paraphernalia from the state\u2019s broader anti-paraphernalia law.<\/p>\n He noted that while support is growing for legalization in Hawaii, \u201cthere are a number of Democrats who are more conservative in their outlook due to electoral considerations and the continued opposition of law enforcement and county prosecutors.\u201d<\/p>\n Leverenz pointed to Honolulu prosecutor Steve Alm, who he said \u201chas been especially assertive in forwarding unsound rhetoric in recent months around tourism, potency, and the dangers to youth.\u201d<\/p>\n In November, the AG\u2019s office defended the earlier draft of legislation after Alm said law enforcement were firmly against legalizing marijuana in general and Lopez\u2019s plan specifically. David Day, a special assistant with the attorney general\u2019s office, said at the time that Alm\u2019s concerns were overblown and the legalization measure deliberately took into account law enforcement perspectives.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department of Law Enforcement, which is that state\u2019s leading law enforcement agency, worked collaboratively with the Department of the Attorney General on this bill,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve tried to do is present a bill that tries to mitigate as many of those risks as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Tarnas said after Lopez initially unveiled the bill in November that the attorney general did \u201ca really good job pulling together all of the different input and providing a comprehensive bill.\u201d Keohokalole, for his part, called the measure \u201cthe best version to date.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Josh Green (D), meanwhile, has been generally in favor of legalization. He said in 2022 that he would sign a legalization bill and already had ideas about how to use tax revenue could be put to use. Advocates struggled under former Democratic governor, Dave Ige, who resisted legalization in part because he said he was reluctant to pass something that conflicts with federal law.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving a governor who supports legalization,\u201d Leverenz said, has \u201cmoved the needle quite a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Hawaii lawmakers have introduced legalization bills in recent legislative sessions, with the Senate passing a reform bill in March<\/a>, a proposal that\u2019s also still technically in play. That proposal does provide for criminal expungements, but so far it\u2019s been stalled in the House.<\/p>\n Last April, the Hawaii legislature also approved a resolution calling on the governor to create a\u00a0clemency program for people with prior marijuana convictions on their records<\/a>.<\/p>\n As for other controlled substances, another newly introduced bill in Hawaii\u2019s legislature would create a limited therapeutic psilocybin program<\/a>, with eligible patients able to possess and consume the psychedelic under a trained facilitator\u2019s care. The measure is the result of a task force on breakthrough therapies that was\u00a0formed last year to explore the issue<\/a>.<\/p>\n DEA Rehires Agent Fired Over Positive Drug Test From CBD, Agreeing To Provide Back Pay In Lawsuit Settlement<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo by Aphiwat chuangchoem<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Hawaii AG\u2019s Marijuana Legalization Bill Formally Lands In State Legislature, But Advocates Urge Major Revisions<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A marijuana legalization measure unveiled in draft form last year by Hawaii\u2019s attorney general has now been formally introduced in the legislature, with companion bills filed in both House and Senate. Advocates, however, say the latest version needs major changes to shift the plan\u2019s focus away from law enforcement andContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":72118,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72119,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72117\/revisions\/72119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Hawaii AG\u2019s Marijuana Legalization Bill Formally Lands In State Legislature, But Advocates Urge Major Revisions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"