Marijuana dispensary prepares to open as Oahu’s second

Oahu’s second medical marijuana dispensary will open in early October, one block away from the island’s first cannabis retailer.

Noa Botanicals, formerly Manoa Botanicals, is hosting an open house on Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at its dispensary at 1308 Young St., the former Krazy Karaoke building, to educate the public on the medicinal value of cannabis as a natural alternative to prescription drugs, said founder Brian Goldstein. The business is on the street behind Aloha Green Apothecary, which opened in August.

The dispensary changed its name to Noa — a Hawaiian word meaning to be free from taboo or restriction — as part of its strategy to “drive social impact” by destigmatizing cannabis. As part of that mission, the retail facility was designed with a spacious open-concept lounge for a dozen patients without the typical bulletproof reception area, and with a private room for consultations.

“Our competition is not the other dispensaries,” Goldstein said. “Our competition is the status quo and the pharmaceuticals — the overuse of prescription drugs. There’s this stigma around cannabis that we are working to reduce.”

Noa Botanicals, which has 27 employees, will open with five strains of flowers and ramp up to about a dozen within two weeks. It will also begin making derivative products next month including tinctures (cannabis oil mixed with a pharmaceutical-grade coconut oil), concentrates (which are smoked or vaporized) and oils that can be used for baking so patients can make their own edibles.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Hawaii are allowed to sell derivatives — such as lotions, oils and tinctures — but are not allowed to sell edibles, such as cookies, brownies or candy.

Hawaii’s only cannabis laboratory, Steep Hill Hawaii, received approval Tuesday from the state Health Department to begin testing cannabis-­infused concentrates and tinctures so that patients who don’t want to smoke the drug can buy alternative products.

“There is a big difference between the marijuana that’s sold on the street … and the cannabis sold in a dispensary,” Goldstein said. “We’re seeing over 90 percent of the samples being brought into the lab that is testing hot for pesticides so there’s no comparison. It may look the same, it may smell similar, but it’s not the same product. We’re redefining cannabis as a natural choice — not some hippy drug — but a natural choice for our community.”