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SB1069
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
1069
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING
TO CANNABIS
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION
1.
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The legislature finds that access for
qualifying patients and primary caregivers to medical cannabis and particularly
licensed medical cannabis dispensaries remains challenging due to limited
access to medical providers, delays in obtaining allowed access to enter and
purchase medical cannabis, and the availability of cannabis through a thriving
illicit market.
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The
legislature further finds that registration for the medical cannabis program
has decreased in the last few years.
�
While
the number of registered medical cannabis patients reached its peak in August
2021, with 35,444 card-holding patients, since then, the number of patients has
decreased over fifteen per cent to 30,035 by November 2024.
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This appears to indicate that residents are
shifting away from licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, and instead are
obtaining their medical cannabis from elsewhere due to difficulties, delays in
registering, and the ease and lower costs in obtaining cannabis elsewhere.
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The
legislature also finds that this apparent shift away from licensed medical
cannabis dispensaries toward the illicit market, undermines the purposes of the
medical cannabis program in ensuring patient safety, product safety, and public
safety.
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The
legislature additionally finds that in 2021, Act 34, Session Laws of Hawaii
2021, eliminated the requirement for a physician-patient relationship to be
established by an initial in-person consultation, and authorized the
relationship to be established via telehealth.
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The
legislature further finds that the department of health office of medical
cannabis control and regulation has a comprehensive registration system that
could temporarily allow a qualifying patient or primary caregiver to purchase
medical cannabis, instead of having the patient's access to medical cannabis
delayed by a few to several days while awaiting delivery of the registration
card from the department.
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Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to expand access to care by easing some of the
burdens upon qualifying patients and primary caregivers.
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Specifically, this Act:
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(1)
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Repeals the requirement that a provider-patient
relationship be established in person; and
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(2)
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Allows applicants or primary caregivers to
temporarily purchase medical cannabis after the submission of the applicant's certification
form.
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SECTION
2
.
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Section 329-123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
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"(a)
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Physicians or advanced practice registered
nurses who issue written certifications shall provide, in each written
certification, the name, address, patient identification number, and other
identifying information of the qualifying patient.
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The department of health shall require, in
rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91, that all written certifications comply
with a designated form completed by or on behalf of a qualifying patient.
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The form shall require information from the
applicant, primary caregiver, and physician or advanced practice registered
nurse as specifically required or permitted by this chapter.
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The form shall require the address of the
location where the cannabis is grown and shall appear on the registry card
issued by the department of health.
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The
certifying physician or advanced practice registered nurse shall be required to
have a bona fide physician-patient relationship or bona fide advanced practice
registered nurse-patient relationship, as applicable, with the qualifying
patient[
.
]
; provided that nothing under this part shall require that
the bona fide physician-patient relationship or bona fide advanced practice
registered nurse-patient relationship be established by conducting an initial
in-person consultation.
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After the
submission of the applicant's form but before receipt of confirmed registration
from the department of health, the applicant or primary caregiver may use the
submission of the applicant's form as proof and documentation authorizing the
applicant or primary caregiver to enter and make a one-time purchase of
cannabis from a medical cannabis dispensary licensed under chapter 329D in an
amount that is no more than fifty per cent of the dispensing limits under
section 329D-13.
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The department of
health office of medical cannabis control and regulation shall facilitate the
temporary authorization for applicants and primary caregivers.
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All current active medical cannabis permits
shall be honored through their expiration date."
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SECTION
3
.
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Section 329-126, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
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"
(b)
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For purposes of this section, a bona fide physician-patient relationship
may be established via telehealth, as defined in section 453-1.3(j), and a bona
fide advanced practice registered nurse-patient relationship may be established
via telehealth, as defined in section 457-2; provided that
nothing under
this part shall require that
treatment recommendations that include
certifying a patient for the medical use of cannabis via telehealth [
shall
]
be allowed only after an initial in-person consultation between the certifying
physician or advanced practice registered nurse and the patient.
"
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SECTION
4.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.
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SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Medical
Cannabis; Access; Providers; Certification
Description:
Repeals
the requirement that a provider-patient relationship be established in person.
�
Allows applicants or primary caregivers to
temporarily purchase medical cannabis after the submission of the applicant's
certification form.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.