Why do the rules have so many requirements?

The Legislature included many requirements for dispensaries, and the Department is implementing them in a way that addresses three major public policy concerns. 

The first is patient safety. State law and rules for dispensaries are intended to provide a place for a qualified patient to obtain safe medical marijuana products from secure facilities. 

The second is product safety. This includes testing products to determine contents and potency in order to make sure a patient gets consistent product with known quantities of active ingredients. Testing also screens for contaminants and impurities to prevent introducing things that could make a person sick, which is especially important because the qualifying patient already has a debilitating medical condition that may compromise the patient’s immune system. 

The third is public safety. Marijuana is still a schedule 1 controlled substance for which any use or possession is illegal under federal law. State law and rules reflect an attempt to comply with guidelines the U.S. Department of Justice has issued in regard to state programs that allow use of marijuana. 

The guidelines require a state to have a “robust regulatory scheme” including efforts to prevent diversion of marijuana outside its dispensary programs and misuse of marijuana, particularly by minors. If the State cannot show that it has a robust regulatory scheme, consistent with DOJ guidelines, the entire State program would be at risk.

How were the administrative rules drafted?

The administrative rules were drafted by Department of Health staff with legal counsel provided by the Department of the Attorney General. It took many hours of dedicated staff time and effort to tediously translate the statute into interim rules that represented the intent of the legislation to ensure a safe product. The interim rules were exempted from the public hearing process as outlined in section 329D-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

How many dispensary licenses will be issued?

Up to 8 licenses may be issued initially. The actual number of licenses issued will depend on whether qualified applicants apply.

How do I apply to open a dispensary?

The requirements for applicants are found in chapter 11-850, Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR). Generally, applicants for a dispensary license must fill out an application form and submit supporting documentation and a nonrefundable application fee of $5,000.

A reminder that no new applications are currently being taken at this time.

How much money do I need to qualify as a dispensary applicant?

An application has to indicate that the applicants have resources in the amount of $1,000,000, plus a minimum of $100,000 for each retail dispensing location the applicant would like to operate. A dispensary licensee may operate up to two retail dispensing locations. If an applicant intends to operate two retail dispensing locations, the total money an applicant must have in reserve at the time of application is $1,200,000.