STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1490

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 1488

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 1488, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Amend the definition of "adequate supply" of marijuana to include seven marijuana seedlings;

     (2)  Amend the definition of "debilitating medical condition" to include lupus, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and autism as conditions that qualify for the legal use of medical marijuana;

     (3)  Amend the definition of the term "transport" to allow qualified patients and primary caregivers to transport up to one gram of medical marijuana for laboratory testing under certain conditions;

     (4)  Amend certain dates and deadlines in existing law to address the delays in implementation;

     (5)  Establish new deadlines for the Department of Health to implement the dispensary system, including deadlines for implementation of the Department's computer software tracking system and laboratory testing program;

     (6)  Authorize an alternative means to track marijuana sales during any shutdown of the Department of Health's computer tracking system and require input from licensees;

     (7)  Require retention of video security recordings of production centers and dispensaries for forty-five days; and

     (8)  Amend requirements for laboratory standards and testing to ensure product and patient safety at reasonable tolerance levels with reasonable cost implications.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Drug Policy Action Group; Hawaii Educational Association for Licensed Therapeutic Healthcare; Maui Wellness Group, DBA Maui Grown Therapies; and seven individuals.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Hawai‘i Dispensary Alliance and two individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Health, Department of the Attorney General, and one individual.

     Your Committees find that Act 241, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, codified as chapter 329D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, established a licensing scheme for a statewide system of medical marijuana dispensaries and Act 230, Session Laws of Hawaii 2016, amended chapter 329D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and other sections of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to clarify the system's implementation.  Generally, Act 241 required the Department of Health to announce the selection of medical marijuana dispensary licensees by April 15, 2016, and to allow retail dispensing of medical marijuana beginning July 15, 2016; however, implementation of the dispensary system has been delayed and the Department of Health has not indicated when full implementation may occur.  This measure seeks to address issues to enable implementation of the medical marijuana dispensary system as envisioned in Acts 241 and 230.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1488, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommend that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Judiciary and Labor and Ways and Means,

________________________________ JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair

________________________________ GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair