Hawaii due to set up pot dispensaries

Hawaii was a vanguard state in the medical-marijuana movement, but soon dropped behind others in the development of drug dispensaries. That may have been a lucky break, in that Hawaii can now capitalize on the lessons learned in other jurisdictions.

Hawaii is one of 22 states, in addition to Washington, D.C., to launch medical marijuana programs. Nineteen of those states have set up dispensary systems; Connecticut and Delaware are about to open their first dispensaries later this year.

But the time has finally come for Hawaii to take that leap, with the state exploring its entry into a new regulatory responsibility: seeing that a product of reliable quality and fair price gets delivered to those authorized to purchase.

A newly constituted Medical Marijuana Dispensary Task Force has begun meeting to craft recommendations for lawmakers to enact when they convene in January for the 2015 Legislature. Appropriately, the state Health Department, also starting in January, will take over the supervision of medical marijuana, duties formerly handled by the Department of Public Safety.

The dispensaries are needed because under the state’s 14-year-old law, patients may be legally qualified to use marijuana but have no reasonable means of getting it. They either must grow it themselves, have a caregiver grow it for them, or buy it illegally.

Health officials have said the task force must settle whether the dispensaries would be publicly or privately operated and whether they will be run as nonprofits or as for-profit enterprises. Members will have the opportunity to review the experience of other states in weighing other issues, such as training requirements for staff, security, tracking patients and zoning requirements.

Some of the clearest lessons come from Colorado, the state that has worked the longest on the regulatory issues, starting in June 2010. Its experience hasn’t been flawless — its financing scheme of licensing fees hasn’t produced enough revenue for the regulatory office.

However, the Colorado model is the one other states have sought to adapt to their own needs. And, of course, the Centennial State has embarked on another course that bears watching in the Aloha State: legalization of marijuana for recreational use.

There have been plenty of pitfalls to give pause to Hawaii’s prospective regulators. Los Angeles in particular has proven to be the Wild West, with many unauthorized dispensaries. Government crackdowns have had limited success, and the voters last year passed a proposition capping the number of legal dispensaries. Now L.A. is experimenting with a marijuana farmers market, entirely removing the middle man from the proposition.

Hawaii’s task force needs to take stock of all of these approaches in crafting one that fits the islands’ capacity for production and for enforcement. The related issues of legalization and even decriminalization remain controversial, especially with opponents worried about marijuana as a "gateway" drug and its own inherent health effects.

But island officials have correctly recognized that its medical marijuana program can provide relief to some patients under controlled conditions. Leaders must see that we benefit from the steep learning curves followed elsewhere in the country.