Bill Text: HI HCR74 | 2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Sunrise Review; Auditor; Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-1)

Status: (Passed) 2014-04-23 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HCR74 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2014-HCR74-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	74
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING A SUNRISE REVIEW OF the ESTABLISHment of A SYSTEM OF REGISTERED DISPENSARIES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO DISPENSE MEDICAL MARIJUANA.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, to date, 20 states and Washington, D.C. have medical marijuana programs; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's Medical Use of Marijuana Law was enacted in 2000, as Act 228, Session Laws of Hawaii 2000, to provide medical relief for seriously ill individuals in the State who comply with Hawaii's Medical Marijuana Program by allowing those individuals to acquire, use, and cultivate marijuana for medical purposes; and

 

     WHEREAS, however, Hawaii's Medical Use of Marijuana Law is silent on how patients can obtain medical marijuana if they are unable to grow their own supply of medical marijuana or are unable to find caregivers to grow their supply of medical marijuana for them; and

 

WHEREAS, the Medical Cannabis Working Group, which convened in October 2009 to conduct a study to improve Hawaii's Medical Marijuana Program, found that patients do not have access to a safe, legal, and adequate supply of medicinal cannabis; and

 

WHEREAS, the highest priority recommendation of the Medical Cannabis Working Group in its report, "Medical Cannabis Working Group Report to the Hawai‘i State Legislature," dated February 2010, was the creation of a distribution system for medical marijuana "so that patients no longer have to grow it themselves or resort to the black market to obtain their medicine"; and

 

     WHEREAS, establishing a system of registered dispensaries in the State to dispense medical marijuana to qualified patients and primary caregivers is critical to enable patients to access this medicine for their debilitating medical conditions; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries will not only protect qualified patients who need medical marijuana for their health care needs, but will strengthen and ensure compliance with Hawaii's Medical Use of Marijuana Law; and

 

WHEREAS, section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires new regulatory measures, subjecting unregulated professions and vocations to licensing or other regulatory controls, to be referred to the Auditor for analysis; and

 

WHEREAS, House Bill No. 1587, introduced during the 2014 Regular Session, proposes the establishment of a system of registered dispensaries and dispensary agents to dispense medical marijuana to qualified patients and primary caregivers; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a sunrise review of the establishment of a system of registered dispensaries within the Department of Health to dispense medical marijuana as proposed in H.B. No. 1587, Regular Session of 2014, pursuant to section 26H-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in conducting the sunrise review, the Auditor is requested to include:

 

(1)  The qualifications, duties, and responsibilities for dispensaries of medical marijuana;

 

(2)  The registration requirements for dispensaries of medical marijuana to possess and cultivate medical marijuana for:

 

(A)  Dispensing medical marijuana to a qualifying patient or primary caregiver; and

 

(B)  Manufacturing, purchasing, possessing, distributing, and using drug paraphernalia in accordance with Hawaii's Medical Use of Marijuana Law;

 

(3)  The registration requirements for qualifying patients and primary caregivers to use and obtain services from dispensaries of medical marijuana, including the payment of a cultivation fee to the Department of Health and the cultivation of marijuana in secured facilities that may or may not be part of the dispensary;

 

(4)  The registration, to include criminal record checks, of dispensary agents who must be registered with the Department of Health prior to working at a dispensary; and

 

(5)  The protections afforded to qualifying patients, primary caregivers, dispensaries, and dispensary agents with respect to the regulation of a system of registered dispensaries within the Department of Health to dispense medical marijuana; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, the Director of Health, and the Director of Public Safety.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Sunrise Review; Auditor; Medical Marijuana Dispensaries