Jari Sugano said she supports a bill that would make dispensing marijuana easier to help her 6-year-old daughter, Maile, who suffers from seizures.

"It’s time to come together and support this," said Sugano, sitting next to Maile, who was in a wheelchair at a legislative hearing Saturday.

State laws allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes and for people to grow or have grown enough to supply 4 ounces at a time. But Sugano and others told lawmakers Saturday that obtaining the drug is difficult because it’s illegal to sell it in Hawaii.

A joint committee of the House Judiciary Committee and Health Committee is poised Tuesday morning to vote on a measure that would allow marijuana dispensaries.

Committee members heard close to four hours of testimony on House Bill 321, which would establish a system of medical marijuana dispensaries and production centers in Hawaii.

The bill said the dispensaries were needed in light of the inability of nearly 13,000 qualified patients to grow their own supply. Some are disabled, while others have limited space for a crop.

Physicians said passing the bill will help patients and prevent them from turning to the black market.

But law enforcement officers said the bill provides no tracking system.

State Deputy Attorney General Jill Nagamine raised questions about the bill’s requirement that at least 26 dispensaries be licensed in the state by Jan. 1, 2019.

Nagamine said the number of dispensaries should be left to the state Department of Health, the agency responsible for developing regulations for dispensaries.

"We think the selection of that number is premature," she said.

Drug Free Hawaii spokesman Allen Shin said he felt further discussion was needed to prevent commercialization and ensure no harm would happen to the public.

Backers of the bill were critical of any further delays.

Keoni Ward said his father sometimes used medical marijuana in place of opiates before dying from cancer in December. That allowed him better quality time with his grandchildren and other family members, he said.

"There’s people who are not going to be around in two years," Ward said. "We need to do it today."