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Cannabis in HawaiiEverything You Need to Know

• Hawaii Marijuana Laws

  • Marijuana is a Schedule I substance in the state of Hawaii
  • Federally, cannabis is still considered a Schedule I Controlled Substance
  • Possession of 3 grams or less of marijuana is punishable by a fine of 130 USD.
  • Possession of 1 pound or more but less than two pounds is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a 10,000 USD fine.
  • Distribution of less than one ounce of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year of jail time and a 2,000 USD fine.
  • Cultivationof 25 or more but less than 50 marijuana plants is a felony punishable by up to five years of jail time and a 10,000 USD fine
  • Use or possession of paraphernalia is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a 10,000 USD fine.

• Cannabis Policy Reform Timeline

  • 2000: Following the long federal prohibition and the war on drugs led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Hawaii passed Act 228, the Medical Use of Cannabis Act, making Hawaii the first state to legalize medical cannabis and to allow agricultural or academic research programs.
  • 2013: House Bill 668 was passed to move the medical marijuana program from the Department of Public Safety to the Department of Health and establish a Medical Marijuana Registry fund to help offset the cost of processing and issuing patient identification certificates. Lawmakers also passed act 178 to update language in the Medical Use of Marijuana Act. Registered medical cannabis patients became entitled to possess up to four ounces of usable cannabis and seven plants at any given time.
  • 2015: The legislature passed two bills that further revised the medical cannabis program. House Bill 321 created regulations for eight statewide dispensaries to ensure safe and legal access to medical marijuana for those unable to cultivate their own.
  • 2016: Act 230 updated medical cannabis laws in Hawaii. Legislatures empowered Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) with privileges to certify and prescribe to patients.
  • 2017: Dispensaries opened to the public. Governor Ige signed House Bill 1488 into law, increasing the number of plants for qualified patients to ten. The bill added qualifying conditions for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and any other debilitating medical condition that the Physician recommends for medical marijuana.
  • 2018: Act 116 revised the medical cannabis law. The act legalized vaporizers for retail in dispensaries, made reciprocity provisions for out-of-state patients, and debated the legalization of manufacturing and dispensing cannabis edibles.
  • 2022: There is an initiative to combine the registry and dispensary programs to form the Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation and to update the state’s existing decriminalization law. There are also over a thousand efforts tracked by the Marijuana Moment to legalize recreational marijuana laws for adults in Hawaii.

• Possession Limits in HI

  • Decriminalized statewide for small possession
  • Medical patients can possess four ounces of processed marijuana; recreational possession is illegal.