The previously limited menu of edible products at Hawaii’s medical cannabis dispensaries has been expanded under new Department of Health rules allowing the sale of gummies, chocolates, beverages, brownies, cookies and other items.

In announcing the revised interim administrative rules for the state’s medical cannabis program, DOH said its original regulations were aimed at getting the dispensary system up and running, with a focus on security, tracking and preventing diversion of products to nonpatients.

The revised rules, which went into effect Feb. 24, incorporate legislative changes made in recent years to the state’s medical cannabis statutes and enhance product standards, quality control and manufacturing practices to ensure safety for Hawaii’s nearly 34,000 registered cannabis patients.

Ty Cheng, board chairman of the Hawaii Cannabis Industry Association, called the expanded list of consumables “a huge win for patients as well as the dispensaries.” He applauded DOH for turning its focus to product and patient safety, noting the dispensary program has not resulted in the involvement of “any organized crime element, robberies or products flying out the back door.”

“Edibles are super important because there is a history of it already here in Hawaii. Because we are an island state, we don’t have easy access to other cannabis edibles, and it really came down to homemade products, which can be very scary for many people,” said Cheng, who is president of Aloha Green Cannabis Collection, which has three dispensaries on Oahu.

The green light for edibles couldn’t have some soon enough for the state’s fledgling medical cannabis industry, which is struggling to turn a profit after sizable startup costs and government regulations that dispensary licensees say are preventing them from achieving economies of scale in production and sales.

Establishing a regulatory framework for edibles and production facilities also well positions the dispensaries for if and when recreational marijuana use is legalized in Hawaii.

Cheng said edibles claim a significant chunk of the cannabis market nationally because smoking in general has fallen out of favor and consumables are preferred by the seriously ill and older patients who may already have quit smoking and don’t want to spark up again.

Michele Nakata, program manager of DOH’s Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation, noted the rules had not been revised since the dispensary statute was passed in 2015, largely because of inadequate staffing at her office and the COVID-19 pandemic, which further strained Health Department resources.

“We did not address everything that we would like to address in this revision,” Nakata said. “Our main focus was, No. 1, to put in all the amendments that the Legislature made to the rules, and No 2 is really the Legislature authorized the dispensaries to start producing edible products last year, and we know that they are chomping at the bit to make those, and we have patients who really would like to be able to use edible products for treatment of their conditions, and we thought the existing rules were not adequate to ensure that the products would be safely produced.”

Hawaii’s first medical cannabis dispensaries opened in 2017, and the state’s eight licensees now operate a total of 18 outlets statewide: eight on Oahu, six on Hawaii island, three on Maui and one on Kauai.

The first edibles available to patients were capsules, lozenges, pills, oils and tinctures. The list of newly allowed products includes gummies, “hard-molded confections made primarily from sugar or syrup,” chocolates, cookies, brownies, honey, beverages and powdered or syrup beverage mixes or beverage additives, according to DOH.

The updated rules provide protections similar to those required for other consumer products, including more detailed labeling on ingredients, dosage, serving size, per-serving totals of THC, CBD and other cannabinoids and an allergen statement.

“Obviously, cannabis is still a federally illegal substance, and unlike our food safety program or the state food and drug program, which can basically just point directly to (federal Food and Drug Administration) requirements, we can’t do that because cannabis is still considered an adulterant under FDA rules,” Nakata said. “So what we did instead is we had to go through the process of selecting and inserting those things that are applicable to the products dispensaries make.

“A brownie that a patient purchases from a medical use dispensary should be as safe to consumers as a noninfused brownie that you buy at a supermarket or bakery.”

To restrict any appeal to minors, cannabis edibles are prohibited from resembling commercially available candy or other food items marketed to children and cannot be made in the shape of a human, animal or fruit, according to the revised rules. Additionally, the words “candy” and “candies” cannot be used on packaging, labeling or advertising.

DOH also updated licensee sampling and testing requirements and addressed hemp production and processing in connection with medical cannabis.

In anticipation of the revised rules, Cheng said Aloha Green has been working over the past year to develop a lightly carbonated drink called Tiny Bubbles that contains low doses of THC and CBD. He plans to launch the product in the next few weeks and hopes to have a cannabis-infused chocolate bar ready by the fall.

“In the beginning most of edibles you will see will be quite tame in that they will be focused toward sick people who are unable to vaporize or smoke product into their lungs,” he said. “So you’re not going to see the same type of products you might see in California when it comes to edibles. Yet it’s great that we can start that process of experimentation and product development.”

Cheng expects most dispensaries will initially expand their edible lines with gummies, hard candies and chocolates, which are easier to manufacture and don’t have the same spoilage issues as baked goods made with butter and eggs, especially in Hawaii’s climate.

According to Cheng, it shouldn’t be difficult for dispensaries that are already observing strict manufacturing standards to pivot to a broader range of edibles. Aloha Green plans to expand its processing facility to provide space for tempering chocolate and whipping up baked goods.

The product safety rules took effect immediately for the newly authorized edibles, and Nakata said existing products — lozenges, pills and such — have until Jan. 1 to comply so that they remain available to patients who have been using them.

Looking ahead, Nakata said state regulators might review rules that prohibit dispensaries from advertising beyond maintaining a website, and changing licensing requirements, as many states have done, to encourage “social equity” in the distribution of dispensary licenses.

“Obviously, in the beginning there was a huge concern about security requirements, and because cannabis was still on shaky ground, folks had to have a lot of capital, and that’s not so much the case anymore,” she explained. “There are more companies that are willing to lease property or enter in agreements with (cannabis-related) companies, and it kind of excluded a large proportion of potential business people from the industry, so it’s trying to balance that out.”

Nakata added that Hawaii is a member of the national Cannabis Regulators Association and that she confers weekly with her counterparts in other states to share concerns and discuss regulatory issues.

At the Legislature the Hawaii Cannabis Industry Association sees additional room to grow in House Bill 2260, which, among other things, would increase the number of plants allowed at production centers and raise the number of production centers and retail locations permitted under a dispensary license.

HB 2260 also would allow dispensary-to-dispensary sales to ensure a stable cannabis supply. Cheng said the provision would help with the production of edibles as well if some dispensaries opt out of establishing their own bake shops.

The measure has cleared the state House and passed first reading at the Senate on Tuesday.

Nakata said DOH supports HB 2260 “in concept” but has concerns about her short-staffed office being able to keep up with further industry growth.

Currently, there are only two full-time inspectors for 30 medical cannabis facilities spread across the state. An additional position was approved in 2019, she said, but hiring was stalled by the pandemic.

“We have really struggled the past two years with real limited staffing, but things are definitely turning around.”

Medical cannabis in Hawaii

>> As of Jan. 31, 33,951 in-state medical cannabis patients and 2,748 caregivers were registered statewide. Severe pain is the primary reported condition for adult patients, and seizures and severe pain for children under age 18.

>> Registered patients and their caregivers may purchase up to 4 ounces of medical cannabis from a licensed dispensary during any 15-day period, with a maximum 8 ounces over a 30-day period. Patients also are allowed to grow up to 10 plants.

>> Use of medical cannabis is allowed only on private property. It may not be used in a moving vehicle, at work, at the beach, on hiking trails or in any other public space and especially not on federally owned property.