Legislators pass medical marijuana dispensary bill

The state Legislature has passed a bill that would allow for as many as 16 medical marijuana dispensary sites across the state.

The Senate’s unanimous vote and the House’s  36-13 vote on Thursday comes 15 years after state leaders authorized the prescription and use of medical marijuana but fell short of establishing a dispensary system to provide raccess to the drug.

The measure, House Bill 321, now goes Gov. David Ige’s desk.  Ige representatives have said he’s open to signing a dispensary bill into law, and members of his cabinet have worked with legislators in crafting the measure.

The move would impact the current 13,000 or so medical pot patients in Hawaii. The measure would also expand to allow those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to qualify for the program.

The measure would currently exclude patients on Molokai and Lanai from accessing dispensaries, and it would prohibit inter-island transfer of the drug.

The lawmakers’ 11th hour vote on the dispensary measure brought their 2015 legislative session to an end.

The session also saw bills passed to extend Oahu’s rail tax surcharge, allow Maui Memorial Medical Center to be privately managed, and to lock in a Turtle Bay preservation deal, among others.

"It was very quiet on the outside, but a lot of things brewing on the inside," Sen. Sam Slom, the Senate’s lone Republican, said in reflecting on this year’s session.