In the “hurry up and wait” mode that defines Hawaii’s lawmaking process, new rules launching the state’s medical marijuana industry have been rushed, less than a year after a law finally sanctioned dispensaries, and 15 years after Hawaii approved medical marijuana use but without legal means of buying the drug.
The harried nature of the rule-
making, coupled with lawmakers’ criticisms of the crucial ground rules, are unsettling — so much so that it behooves officials to pause the timetable to do this properly.
After years under the state Department of Public Safety, the medical marijuana program is now with the state Department of Health. Pressed by a tight schedule set by the last Legislature, the DOH’s care in crafting dispensary rules that strive to be responsible to the health and welfare of the general public — and particularly to minors — is to be commended.
Complicating matters is federal law, which classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug having no currently accepted medical use. Health officials did not deserve the overbearing scolding they got from some legislators in a rules briefing Monday.
The DOH underscores three major public-policy concerns: patient safety, product safety and public safety. But some of the rules drew complaints about overstepping legislative intent, including:
>> Prohibiting greenhouses in the growing of medical marijuana.
While the law says that marijuana production must occur in “enclosed, indoor facilities,” the greenhouse ban is dubious, considering Hawaii’s solar climate. In states such as Colorado and Washington, where both medicinal and recreational pot are legal, high energy use is a costly concern for growers. Precluding the greenhouse option in Hawaii should be dropped, provided that security issues are addressed.
>> Disallowing marijuana cigarettes.
While silent on “joints,” the law specifies that medical marijuana dispensaries can sell capsules, lozenges, pills, oil and oil extracts, tinctures, ointments and skin lotions. In defending the anti-joint rule, DOH Director Dr. Virginia Pressler made a solid point that her agency has aggressively advocated against inhaling smoke from tobacco and other products due to health risks.
Lawmakers also took issue with the DOH dispensary bans on pot-ingesting paraphernalia and on marijuana-infused foods, such as baked goods and candies.
At this early stage, the Health Department is right to err on the side of caution against drugs tucked in common-looking foods. The salient point remains that registered patients will still have access to the medicine they need without these products.
Hawaii’s new law allows for 16 medical marijuana dispensaries — eight licenses for two retail dispensaries — to open on July 15. The application period for the licenses is Jan. 12-29, with each nonrefundable $5,000 application needing to show at least $1 million in financial resources, plus $100,000-plus per dispensary site.
Clearly, it will take money to make money. Already, savvy investors and prominent names are positioning to get in on a potential boom industry. Dispensaries here, some predict, could create a lucrative new market of $65 million a year in sales and up to 800 jobs.
Still, the law’s intent is supposed to be the promotion of health, not commercial ventures. Medical dispensaries should not be a flimsy gateway to easy marijuana purchase — or to the legalization of recreational marijuana, which is a separate, divisive issue for future public debates.
Legitimate medical marijuana users have waited too long for legal means to obtain their medicine. The DOH is closing in on a dispensary system, and it has the right instincts to keep the ground rules rigid. A few adjustments can be made, however — such as dropping the greenhouse ban — to keep displeased legislators from overworking the law in the upcoming session.
Health officials should be allowed another month or two to
refine dispensary rules that, on the whole, serve and protect the public’s health.
