Dead Bills:

These bills did not meet deadlines and as such can no longer be passed in the 2014 legislative session.

HB2092 – The new version of this bill is the same as SB2574 below. It adds “board certified pain physicians” as doctors who can recommend medical marijuana. This bill will still exclude many qualified candidates from the medical marijuana program, as not all uses of medical marijuana are for pain management. Moreover, the new language added in the Senate Health Committee defines a primary care physician as a primary care physician reported to a patient’s insurance provider, thus effectively excluding anyone with PPO insurance or without insurance from the program, and forcing those with some providers to change insurers.

The old version of this bill, introduced by Representative Belatti made a couple of key fixes to the medical marijuana program. Most importantly, this bill removed the language requiring medical cannabis recommendations to come from a patient’s primary care physician.

• HB2092 has been referred to the house committee on health (HLT).
• HB2092 has been heard and passed unamended by the house committee on health.
• HB2092 has crossed over to the senate, and has been referred to the committees on Health (HTH) and Consumer Protection (CPN).
• HB2092 was deferred indefinitely (killed) in the Senate CPN committee.

HB1721 – A bill that makes marijuana a schedule II controlled substance under the Hawaii Uniform Controlled Substances act, so as to make it easier for Hawaii’s medical cannabis program to conform to federal law. To be clear, this act does not change the fact that nationally marijuana remains a schedule I controlled substance.

• This bill has been referred to the house committee on the judiciary (JUD).

HB1567 removes cannabis concentrates from protection under the medical marijuana program. This bill would strip sick patients of choice in how best to use their medicine.
SB2402 is the companion bill in the senate.

• HB1567 has been referred to the house committee on Health (HLT), the committee on consumer protection (CPC), and the Judiciary (JUD) committee.
• SB2402 has been referred to the senate committees on public safety (PSM) and judiciary and labor (JDL).
• SB2402 received a hearing on Thursday the 13th of February.

SB2418 – This bill, introduced by Senators Dela Cruz, English, and Solomon, adds to the medical marijuana program a category of high cannabidiol (CBD) low THC products for the treatment of seizures, PTSD, etc.

• SB2418 has been referred to the senate committees on health (HTH) and judiciary and labor (JDL).

HB1587 – A dispensaries bill introduced by House speaker Souki by request. Some features of the bill are that it allows for both for-profit and non-profit dispensaries, and requires a sliding fee scale. The current draft includes blanks for some important quantities such as how much medicine dispensaries are allowed to dispense and how often.

• This bill has been referred to the committees of health (HLT), the judiciary (JUD), and finance (FIN).

HB1710 – A bill allowing for dispensaries introduced by representatives Hanohano, Carroll, Mizuno, Evans, and Souki. This version uses the term “compassion centers” and includes a specific provision that these compassion centers be subject to the general excise tax. This bill leaves some important questions about the opperation of compassion centers to county level ordinances, and makes the licensing, registration, and inspection of these facilities a job for county level decision making. It contains a “reciprocity provision” for compassion centers to accept out of state cards.
SB2734 – This is the companion bill, introduced in the senate by English, Chun Oakland, Espero, Gabbard, Ruderman, Solomon, Baker, Dela Cruz, Galuteria, Ihara, Kidani, Nishihara, Shimabukuro, and Tokuda.

• HB1710 has been referred to the house committees on health (HLT), the judiciary  (JUD) and finance (FIN).
• SB2734 has been referred to the senate committees on public safety (PSM) /health (HTH) and ways and means (WAM).

SB2601 – Another dispensary bill, introduced by Senators Espero, Chun Oakland, Nishihara, and Slom. This bill allows for co-operatives, and changes the existing medical marijuana law to read “medical cannabis” instead of “medical marijuana.”

• SB2601 has been referred to the senate committees on health (HTH)/consumer protection (CPN) and ways and means (WAM).

SB2942 – This bill was introduced by Senators Ruderman, Chun Oakland, Espero, Gabbard, Ihara, Kidani, Galuteria, and Shimabukuro. It is modelled after the Rhode Island dispensary legislation. It would create one dispensary in each county. Patients would register with a dispensary to designate it their caregiver. The bill includes a reciprocity provision.

• SB2942 has been referred to the senate committees on health (HTH)/consumer protection (CPN) and ways and means (WAM).

SB2316 – This bill, introduced by Espero, Chun Oakland, Baker, Galuteria, Nishihara, and Slom, creates a task force to recommend best practices for improving the medical marijuana program. The task force would include: One individual from the department of health; One individual from the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii; One individual from the American Civil Liberties Union; Two medical marijuana patients; Two primary caregivers; Two physicians; and Two individuals at large.

• This bill has been referred to the senate committees on: health (HTH)/public safety (PSM), and ways and means (WAM).

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HR&billnumber=184&year=2014