In the 17 years that have passed since state lawmakers gave the go-ahead to create Hawaii’s medical marijuana registry, the law and related rules have been tweaked several times. The latest round: House Bill 1488, an omnibus measure that aims to smooth out some rough edges in the state’s program as it preps for the long-awaited opening of dispensaries.

Last week the bill, which adds qualifying medical conditions to the patient roster and permits possession of additional plants, among other changes, was sent to Gov. David Ige. The governor should sign HB 1488, since it anticipates potential snags and will help the program run efficiently.

However, in written testimony, the state Department of Health rightly pointed out that given the Trump administration’s mixed signals about whether it intends to crack down on the thriving recreational marijuana industry, the state should “take heed not to dilute its current robust regulatory system to the point where the medical marijuana program begins to resemble a recreational marijuana program.”

Recreational marijuana is now legal in eight states, and 28 states have various medical marijuana programs. But the drug remains illegal under federal law, and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made it clear that he’s no fan of cannabis. Last month, he appointed a task force to review existing marijuana policies to “ensure consistency” with the administration’s anti-drug policy.

Colorado and Washington were the first to legalize the drug for adult use in 2012. Two years later, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia passed recreational marijuana measures. California, Nevada, Massachusetts and Maine followed with voter initiatives in November’s general election.

In response to new state laws, the Obama Justice Department specified when federal prosecutors would take action — such as in cases of criminals marketing to children and organized crime rings delivering pot to states where it’s illegal. It’s not clear where the Trump administration will set the enforcement bar. Even so, most of HB 1488’s proposed changes don’t seem to loosen state law.

For example, the bill adds “paratransit” workers and others providing patients with transportation or mobility assistance to the lineup of people allowed access to a dispensary. But those workers, who must be at least 21 years old and free of felony convictions, will be escorted by a licensee or registered dispensary employee while in the facility.

When dispensaries open here — after the state’s monitoring systems that track operations come online — one will be turned away at the door unless one’s name is in the patient registry, is a patient’s caregiver or has DOH approval for some official purpose. No casual window-shopping or browsing pakalolo options allowed.

Among the proposed law’s other changes: increasing the number of plants a patient and primary caregiver may jointly possess to 10 from seven; adding rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis as conditions that qualify for medical marijuana; and bumping up the limit of plants at a production center to 5,000 from 3,000. These fixes are needed to address pent-up demand.

After Hawaii legalized medical cannabis in 2000, patients had no legal way to obtain it until Act 241, passed in 2015, which allowed the state to issue eight licenses for a total of 16 production centers and 16 dispensaries.

Proposals for at least a few more legal tweaks can be expected as the program gets underway. For example, due to an absence of employment protections, Hawaii cannabis patients can be fired for a positive marijuana test. That issue, as well as other bills rejected this year, such one to legalize pot and another to decriminalize possession of small amounts, could resurface next year at the state Capitol.

While it might be tempting to contemplate cashing in via the recreational industry, lawmakers must remain focused on why the registry was formed. Cannabis, which targets the mechanisms in the body that control pain and nausea, ranks as among the most effective and safest medicines available — especially when compared to the addiction risks tied to opioid pain medicines.

The state should strive to keep a tight grip on gate-keeping and integrity built into its evolving medical marijuana program, which promises to bring needed relief to registry patients.