The state Department of Health is under heavy pressure to speed up the process that would allow medical marijuana patients to receive cannabis. The department has been criticized for its reluctance to issue temporary cards; DOH expressed worry that temporary cards could easily be forged.

The worry is understandable, given that marijuana is a hugely popular recreational drug, and is expected to become widely available through dispensaries beginning July 15. And DOH must fulfill its duty to ensure, as best it can, that the drug is dispensed properly.

Meanwhile, under revised rules of professional conduct, Hawaii lawyers will be permitted to counsel applicants seeking to open dispensaries, which is a welcome switch from the previous situation.

Look, up in the sky! It’s Super … er, an asteroid!

The spooky jokes have been irresistible, based on the Halloweeny coverage of Asteroid 2015, spotted by an astronomer atop Haleakala.

The space rock — at 1,300 feet in diameter, it’s a biggie — will scare the Earth on All Hallows Eve this Saturday, passing within 300,000 miles, just a bit more distant than the Moon.

All the consternation about the Hawaii island and Maui astronomy developments aside, we’d like to thank that eagle-eyed scientist, the postdoctoral researcher Robert Weryk at the Pan-STARRS1 installation.

And all this time we’ve been thinking of the mountaintop telescopes as being scientific instruments. They’re also a public-safety insurance policy, it seems.