Days before dispensary licensee selections are announced, a proposal that aims to increase patient access to medical cannabis and smooth out bumps in the law is moving through the state Legislature.
The omnibus House Bill 2707, introduced by Oahu Democrat Rep. Della Au Belatti, on Monday cleared two Senate committees. The measure is slated for a third Senate reading.
The bill gives advanced practice registered nurses, or APRNs, the ability to certify patients for cannabis use and would allow the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to collect data about the program, such as the amount of marijuana grown and dispensed and the number of patients statewide.
It also would clarify that certain state tax provisions do not apply to dispensaries — a form of tax relief to help keep prices low — and it would expand the list of marijuana products patients can legally use.
As amended, the bill no longer creates a medical marijuana advisory commission, which originally was pitched as a way to monitor the program and its overall effectiveness. The measure now calls for a “legislative oversight working group” at the University of Hawaii at Manoa that would develop legislation to improve the dispensary system. The group would include several lawmakers, a physician, patients and various individuals in the industry.
Rep. Joy San Buenaventura, D-Puna, who co-signed the measure, said late Wednesday without having seen amendments in detail that she would still push for an advisory commission if the bill moves to conference and she happens to be a member of the conference committee.
“I would rather have a commission that would only focus on medical marijuana, rather than a legislative oversight group,” she said. “It’s an emerging industry, and in the short time I’ve been in the Legislature, I’ve seen how we’re bombarded in various subjects. I don’t think we can do one subject sufficient service. … My knee-jerk reaction right now is, I’d prefer the House version of the bill having a commission.”
Belatti previously told the Tribune-Herald her bill aims to clarify the dispensary law in a way that “brings the industry into the light.”
Buenaventura said she threw her support behind the bill because she thought it would amend the dispensary law to be more pro-patient. She said Wednesday Belatti’s bill is still pro-patient, and, if passed, would help stamp out a booming black market — pointing to the provision allowing nurses to prescribe as an example.
“Right now, there are very few physicians,” she said. “We already have a physician shortage to begin with, and to add (nurses) into the mix makes sure (patients) have access to medical marijuana.”
On April 15, the state Department of Health will announce the eight licensee selections to open Hawaii’s first medical marijuana dispensaries. Dispensaries, which can begin operating July 15, will for the first time give the state’s more than 13,000 patients a way to legally purchase their medicine. Under current policy, patients have had to either grow cannabis themselves or acquire it through a caregiver.
The Big Island will get two licenses initially — each of which will allow up to two dispensaries and two grow centers. Fourteen people are vying for those licenses, including longtime banana farmer Richard Ha and Hilo Realtor Hank Correa.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com
