Measure would lengthen list of pot-aided ailments

Lawmakers are considering adding to the list of illnesses that qualify for the legal use of medical marijuana as the state’s first dispensaries prepare to open in a few months.

Senate Bill 174 proposes to expand the definition of a “debilitating medical condition” to also include lupus, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis and autism. An earlier version of the bill also included anxiety, depression, insomnia and stress.

“We think it’s great that the Legislature is listening to the demands of suffering patients,” said Carl Bergquist, executive director of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii. “It’s good to add as many as possible as those listed in the bill.”

The state Department of Health, which oversees the medical marijuana program, the state Department of the Attorney General and city Department of the Prosecuting Attorney are opposing the addition of new qualifying conditions.

The Department of the Prosecuting Attorney said expanding the conditions would open the door to abuse of the medical marijuana system and allow the drug to be certified for “practically anyone.”

Other bills being considered would provide further access to medical marijuana.

Senate Bill 173 would allow patients to have seven seedlings in addition to the seven plants currently permitted, and also would allow dispensaries to sell edibles, currently prohibited under state law.

Senate Bill 1159 and House Bill 1488 would consolidate the dispensary and registry programs within the DOH and would delay the issuance of additional licenses for a year to Oct. 1, 2018. The bills also would seek to create an alternate tracking system to back up the online seed-to-sale system the state is currently installing. Lawmakers are addressing transportation issues in House Bill 836, which would allow patients and caregivers to transport their medical cannabis between islands.

“At the end of the day, it’s improving access to medical marijuana for patients and improving the program overall,” said Sen. Will Espero (D, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-Ewa by Gentry).

Meanwhile, House Bill 107 would decriminalize the possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, while Senate Bill 548 would legalize the drug for recreational use.

At least three dispensaries are on track to open this year.

Manoa Botanicals LLC, which is opening a Honolulu dispensary on Young Street, received state approval Thursday to begin growing pakalolo. Aloha Green Holdings Inc. on Oahu and Maui Grown Therapies, led by former Maui Land & Pineapple Co. Inc. CEO David Cole, got the green light last week from the state Department of Health to start cultivation.

Before retail sales can begin, the DOH still must contract with laboratories to test the potency and purity of the drugs, and the state’s so-called seed-to-sale tracking system must be able to connect with its patient registry system to ensure patients do not purchase more than 4 ounces in a 15-day period.

“With more than 15,000 medical marijuana patients already registered with the Department of Health, there’s significant pent-up demand among patients,” said Brian Goldstein, CEO of Manoa Botanicals, in a news release.

Hawaii legalized medical cannabis in 2000, but patients did not have a legal way to obtain the drug. Act 241, passed in 2015, allowed the state to issue eight licenses for a total of 16 production centers and 16 dispensaries: three on Oahu, one on Kauai and two each on Maui and Hawaii island. Dispensaries were allowed to open as early as July 15, according to the law. They haven’t opened yet as the businesses have been gearing up and the state has been preparing its monitoring systems.