Hawaii Says ‘Aloha’ to Legal Medical Marijuana Sales
Hawaii was the first state to pass a medical marijuana law through the legislature now its finally getting dispensaries and legal sales: Registered patients in Hawaii may now purchase up to eight ounces over a 30 consecutive day period.
Seventeen years after the state passed trailblazing medical cannabis laws in the legislature and not through the ballot box Hawaiian patients now have access to a regulated market, with the first two dispensaries now open.
After officially passing their final inspection from the Department of Health, Maui Grown Therapies transacted the first sales in the state for preregistered patients narrowly edging out Aloha Green of Oahu (which opened August 9) for the claim to first Hawaiian dispensary, even though Maui Grown didnt officially open until August 14.
The states Health Director, Dr. Virginia Pressler, released an official DOH statement marking the days importance and saying it sets a new standard for dispensary programs other states can emulate.
This is an important day for qualified patients and caregivers on Maui who now have assurance the medical cannabis they purchase at Maui Grown Therapies has been thoroughly tested and is safe for them to use, she said.Implementing a new health program is always challenging, and the dispensary program was no exception.
Maui Grown Therapies cofounder, Dr. Gregory Park, said the climb to this peak wasnt an easy one: Over the past year, the dispensary navigated their way to a nearly perfect score from the DOH 510 out of a possible 520. They led the way as the first dispensary given permission to start cultivating in February, and now theyve completed the first legal cannabis sales in the history of Hawaii.
Its been a long, winding road to get here and were extremely excited, Park said. We want to thank State Senator Roz Baker and Representative Della Bellati for their leadership and the Department of Health for establishing high compliance standards for this emerging industry. Getting to this day required hard work, cooperation and patience, but its worth it to be able to bring this alternative therapy to our Maui community.
Michael Backes, the author of Cannabis Pharmacy, developed the curriculum and trained Maui Grown Therapies employees himself during a company training academy in July.
You cant have a regulated market without lab testing, and that is no longer an issue in the Aloha State: Steep Hill a foundational cannabis testing lab thats led the way in testing and analytics (and a whole bunch of other crazy weed science) has received the first testing license issued by the DOH.
Keith Ridley, Chief of DOHs Office of Health Care Assurance, oversees the medical cannabis dispensary program.
We realize that registered patients and caregivers and some of the licensed dispensaries have been waiting for a laboratory to become operational to test medical cannabis prior to consumption and sale, he said. This is a major step forward as it allows the dispensaries to now begin testing their products to sell to qualified patients.
Steep Hill was licensed under interim administrative rules for the medical cannabis dispensary program, which allows them to conduct specific tests required to ensure the safety of ...
