Marijuana sales prove challenging for Hawaii

Associated Press

HONOLULU

With less than five months to go before medical marijuana dispensaries can open in Hawaii, business owners could be facing unique obstacles in a state of islands separated by federal waters.

Dispensaries can open as soon as July 15, but industry experts say they could be confronted with challenges unlike those in other states, such as navigating rules that ban inter-island transport and limit the number of growers – all of which could cause marijuana shortages. A lack of labs to test the crop presents another challenge for state lawmakers.

“Hawaii is going to be a really interesting market in general, basically because of the geography,” said Chris Walsh, managing editor of Marijuana Business Daily. “First, it’s a chain of islands separated by bodies of water, and second, it’s remote.”

The Hawaii Department of Health is reviewing dispensary applications, and plans to award licenses in April. Actor and marijuana advocate Woody Harrelson and video-game designer Henk Rogers are among 59 Hawaii residents who have applied for licenses.

Under a law passed in 2015, Hawaii will grant eight licenses for marijuana businesses, each of which can have two production centers and two dispensaries. Three licenses will be awarded for Oahu, two for Hawaii Island, two for Maui and one for Kauai.

However, the law banned inter-island transport. Marijuana advocates say that will separate the industry into distinct economies on each island, unlike other states.

It also could lead to marijuana shortages, and go as far as preventing some dispensaries from even selling marijuana until laboratories are approved.

All medical marijuana must be tested in a state-approved laboratory before it’s sold, but currently, there are none in Hawaii. Some worry that high startup costs and low patient numbers will prevent laboratories from opening on rural islands.

Hawaii lawmakers are considering whether to allow marijuana to be transported to another island if a laboratory isn’t available.