The state Health Department said Tuesday it will neither release the names of committee members who will select the winners of Hawaii’s eight medical marijuana dispensary licenses nor disclose any information about the selection process.
The department received 66 applications for the dispensary licenses and will determine by April 15 who is granted the right to open the first legal marijuana shops in Hawaii later this year.
“It is critical that the selection process be conducted without external influence and disruption, so that applicants are scored solely on their application and the merit criteria,” said Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the Department of Health. “To ensure the integrity of the selection process, DOH will not be releasing any additional information about applicants, the application process or evaluation panel at this time.”
The department’s decision to keep the process secret was immediately criticized by at least one lawmaker who said the names of the selection committee will get out.
“The DOH may say that they want to keep the panel names secret so they can’t be lobbied. But we all know in certain circles that information will get out and they will get lobbied, so it’s better that it’s totally transparent and everything is done aboveboard,” said Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona). “People on the inside always find out. The selection panel should also be totally transparent so we know that there’s no favoritism and no insider deals. There has to be 100 percent transparency in this process … so that we know that there are no conflicts of interest and people have total trust in the system.”
The Health Department should also make known every member of each entity applying for dispensary licenses, Green added. Most of the applicants are limited-liability companies, which aren’t required to disclose its principals in public records.
“It is important that we know whether any LLC is in good standing, that there are no people who have a criminal record or bad record of performance,” he said. “If someone is applying that has a long history of legal problems or criminal activity or financial problems, that’s all relevant.”
The DOH hasn’t decided whether it will release the names of selection committee members once the process is over, Okubo said. The list of power players who have applied for a dispensary license include actor Woody Harrelson, Hollywood producer Shep Gordon and dozens of high-profile attorneys, entrepreneurs and politicians.
There were 59 candidates that submitted 66 applications by the Jan. 29 deadline, but each applicant will be issued only one license, according to DOH rules. If a candidate qualifies for more than one license, the individual or entity will have to choose the county in which to operate a dispensary.
Okubo said the DOH is communicating with all applicants and the public strictly via its website, health.hawaii.gov/medicalmarijuana, so that everyone receives information at the same time.
“At first I thought you’d want to know (who’s on the selection panel) so that you can try to influence those people you do know to let them know more of what you intend to do as potential licensee,” said Eugene Tiwanak, former CEO of St. Francis Healthcare Foundation of Hawaii, who is vying for one of three dispensary licenses for Oahu. “(Later) I felt this process was good and puts everybody on an even keel.”
Former Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle, a longtime city prosecutor who is representing The Wellness Group LLC, agreed with the DOH’s stance on keeping the panel anonymous.
“Unequivocally, the idea of keeping them as anonymous as possible is exactly the right thing to do,” he said. “The one thing you don’t want are friends or relatives or anybody applying pressure to these people who have a very hard job to do. This group being untouchable when it comes to influence will exponentially increase the likelihood that the decision will be made on merit and merit alone.”
Former state Attorney General David Louie, who is representing Hawaii Green Cross LLC, said, “Either you put the names out and then people might lobby, or you insulate these people from lobbying by not disclosing their names. People are concerned about having political pressure put on them. I can’t say that one way is better than the other.”
Michael Patterson, CEO of US Cannabis Pharmaceutical Research and Development, a marijuana consulting firm based in Florida, said the secret nature of the process could open the door to lawsuits by candidates who aren’t selected.
“It’s not going to be as clean of a process as everybody hopes,” he said. “No state that has a limited number of marijuana licenses has had a clean process when it comes to awarding licenses. One of the issues will be that they (the public) do not know the panel members. If I didn’t get a license, I would go sue the state. The people of Hawaii need to know this is an objective process.”
