Bill Text: HI SB1043 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating To Cannabis.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-12-11 - Carried over to 2024 Regular Session. [SB1043 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2024-SB1043-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1043
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO CANNABIS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the legal history of cannabis or marijuana in the United States primarily addresses the regulation of cannabis for medical use, and secondarily the use of cannabis for personal or recreational purposes.  By the mid-1930s, cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including thirty-five states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act, which was subsequently replaced in 1970 with the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act.  Under the federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act, marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, are classified as schedule I controlled substances.

     Notwithstanding the prospect of federal prosecution, several states, including Hawaii, enacted medical cannabis laws.  Chapter 329, part IX, Hawaii Revised Statutes, was enacted to create a medical use of cannabis exemption from criminal sanctions.  As of November 4, 2020, thirty-six states and four U.S. territories also allow the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.  Furthermore, chapter 329D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, was enacted to establish medical cannabis dispensaries authorized to operate beginning in July 2016.  As Hawaii expands its medical cannabis program through the use of highly regulated and monitored dispensaries, more patients are anticipated to consider medical cannabis as a viable treatment.

     In addition to medical cannabis laws, some states have legalized or decriminalized cannabis.  The jurisdictions of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington have all decriminalized cannabis in small amounts.  In each state, cannabis users no longer face jail time for the possession or use of cannabis in the amount permitted by statute.  Most places that decriminalized small amounts of cannabis replaced incarceration or criminal charges with civil fines, confiscation, drug education, or drug treatment, or made various cannabis offenses the lowest priority for law enforcement.

     In addition to the majority of states that have decriminalized possession of cannabis, the federal government has also signaled its approval of decriminalization at the federal level.  On December 4, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act, which removes cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and facilitates cancelling low-level federal convictions and arrests related to cannabis.  This is the first time Congress has acted on the issue of decriminalizing cannabis.

     In 2012, voters in Colorado and Washington voted to legalize and regulate the production, possession, and distribution of cannabis for persons age twenty-one and older.  Following Colorado and Washington's lead, Alaska, California, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, and Vermont also legalized small amounts of cannabis for adult recreational use.  As of 2020, fifteen states and three U.S. territories have legalized recreational cannabis.

     Colorado was the first state to remove the prohibition on commercial production of cannabis for general use.  During the first year of legal cannabis sales in 2014, Colorado collected $67,594,323 in taxes and fees from medical and retail cannabis.  As of November 2020, Colorado has collected $1,563,063,859 in total revenue from cannabis taxes and fees.

     The legislature finds that the legalization of cannabis for personal or recreational use is a natural, logical, and reasonable outgrowth of the current science of cannabis and attitude toward cannabis.

     The legislature further finds that cannabis cultivation and sales hold potential for economic development, increased tax revenues, and reduction in crime.

     The legislature recognizes that the limits imposed under part IX chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for the medical use of cannabis have been effective in maintaining control of cannabis, have had no adverse impact on public health and safety, and have had beneficial medicinal effects that should also be available to all adults of twenty-years of age or older for the sake of wellness, personal, and medicinal use.

     The purpose of this Act is to decriminalize small amounts of cannabis for personal use, similar to the quantities authorized under part IX chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for the medical use of cannabis.

     SECTION 2.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS FOR PERSONAL USE

     §   -1  Definitions.  As used in this chapter:

     "Cannabis" means all parts of the plant of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, including cannabis concentrate.  "Cannabis" does not include industrial hemp; fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of the plant; sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination; or the weight of any other ingredient combined with cannabis to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other product.  For purposes of this definition, "industrial hemp" means the plant of the genus cannabis and any part of that plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration that does not exceed 0.3 per cent on a dry weight basis.

     "Cannabis accessories" means any equipment, products, or materials of any kind that are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, composting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, vaporizing, or containing cannabis, or for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing cannabis into the human body.

     "Cannabis products" means cannabis concentrate products and products that comprise cannabis and other ingredients intended for use or consumption and include but are not limited to edible products, ointments, and tinctures.

     "Personal use" means the cultivation of ten mature ready-for-harvest flowering female plants and the cuttings or seedlings needed to produce successive garden crops of that size, and the possession of a reasonable amount of dried ready-for-inhalable-consumption cannabis not exceeding four ounces, or that is derived from ten mature flowering female plants, whichever is greater, that is used for private, personal, wellness, medicinal, or recreational purposes by persons age twenty-one years or older.  "Personal use" includes the display, possession, sharing, transport, transfer, cultivating, or processing of cannabis, cannabis products, cannabis accessories, or cannabis paraphernalia.

     §   -2  Personal use of cannabis.  (a)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the personal use of cannabis is permitted.

     (b)  Personal use of cannabis shall not be the basis for arrest, seizure, or forfeiture of assets.

     (c)  The possession, use, display, purchase, transfer, or transport of cannabis, cannabis accessories, or cannabis paraphernalia for personal use shall be immune from criminal prosecution.

     (d)  The possession, growing, processing, or transporting of no more than ten mature ready-for-harvest flowering female plants and the cuttings or seedlings needed to produce successive garden crops of that size, and possession of the cannabis produced by the plants shall not be subject to criminal prosecution; provided that the growing takes place in a secure space and is not conducted openly or publicly.

     (e)  The transfer or sale of four ounces or less of cannabis with or without remuneration to a person who is twenty‑one years of age or older is permitted.

     (f)  The consumption of cannabis products is permitted; provided that consumption of flavored e-liquids and juices containing cannabis for vaporizing devices is prohibited.

     (g)  Assisting, advising, or abetting another person who is twenty-one years of age or older in any actions described in this section is permitted.

     (h)  Personal use of cannabis shall be prohibited on public highways, public sidewalks, federal property, and any location where the consumption of alcohol is prohibited.

     §   -3  Effect on employers.  This chapter shall not be construed to:

     (1)  Require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transport, sale, or growing of cannabis in the workplace; or

     (2)  Affect the ability of an employer to have reasonable policies restricting the use of cannabis by employees.

     §   -4  Effect on intoxicated driving laws.  This chapter shall not be construed as a defense, exemption, or immunity from chapter 291E.

     §   -5  Effect on medical cannabis law.  This chapter shall not be construed to affect medical use of cannabis as provided in chapter 329.

     §   -6  Effect on medical cannabis dispensary law.  This chapter shall not be construed to affect the dispensing of medical cannabis as provided in chapter 329D and shall not be deemed to expand the dispensing of medical cannabis beyond the uses provided in chapter 329D.

     §   -7  Effect on property rights.  This chapter shall not be construed to prohibit a person, employer, school, hospital, detention facility, corporation, or any other entity who occupies, owns, or controls a property from prohibiting or otherwise regulating the possession, consumption, use, display, transfer, distribution, sale, transportation, or growing of cannabis on or in that property."

     SECTION 3.  Chapter 712, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§712-     Decriminalization of marijuana.  Any act permitted under section    -2 shall be exempt from arrest, prosecution, and criminal culpability under this part."

     SECTION 4.  Section 329-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

     "(d)  Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, unless specifically excepted, whenever the existence of these salts, isomers, and salts of isomers is possible within the specific chemical designation:

     (1)  Alpha-ethyltryptamine (AET);

     (2)  2,5-dimethoxy-4-ethylamphetamine (DOET);

     (3)  2,5-dimethoxyamphetamine (2,5-DMA);

     (4)  3,4-methylenedioxy amphetamine;

     (5)  3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA);

     (6)  N-hydroxy-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (N‑hydroxy‑MDA);

     (7)  3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine (MDE);

     (8)  5-methoxy-3,4-methylenedioxy-amphetamine;

     (9)  4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxy-amphetamine (4-bromo-2,5-DMA);

    (10)  4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine (Nexus);

    (11)  3,4,5-trimethoxy amphetamine;

    (12)  Bufotenine;

    (13)  4-methoxyamphetamine (PMA);

    (14)  Diethyltryptamine;

    (15)  Dimethyltryptamine;

    (16)  4-methyl-2,5-dimethoxy-amphetamine;

    (17)  Gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) (some other names include gamma hydroxybutyric acid; 4-hydroxybutyrate; 4‑hydroxybutanoic acid; sodium oxybate; sodium oxybutyrate);

    (18)  Ibogaine;

    (19)  Lysergic acid diethylamide;

   [(20)  Marijuana;

    (21)] (20)  Parahexyl;

   [(22)] (21)  Mescaline;

   [(23)] (22)  Peyote;

   [(24)] (23)  N-ethyl-3-piperidyl benzilate;

   [(25)] (24)  N-methyl-3-piperidyl benzilate;

   [(26)] (25)  Psilocybin;

   [(27)] (26)  Psilocyn;

   [(28)] (27)  1-[1-(2-Thienyl) cyclohexyl] Pyrrolidine (TCPy);

   [(29)] (28)  Ethylamine analog of phencyclidine (PCE);

   [(30)] (29)  Pyrrolidine analog of phencyclidine (PCPy, PHP);

   [(31)] (30)  Thiophene analog of phencyclidine (TPCP; TCP);

   [(32)] (31)  Gamma-butyrolactone, including butyrolactone; butyrolactone gamma; 4-butyrolactone; 2(3H)-furanone dihydro; dihydro-2(3H)furanone; tetrahydro-2-furanone; 1,2-butanolide; 1,4-butanolide; 4-butanolide; gamma‑hydroxybutyric acid lactone; 3-hydroxybutyric acid lactone and 4-hydroxybutanoic acid lactone with Chemical Abstract Service number 96-48-0 when any such substance is intended for human ingestion;

   [(33)] (32)  1,4 butanediol, including butanediol; butane‑1,4‑diol; 1,4- butylenes glycol; butylene glycol; 1,4‑dihydroxybutane; 1,4- tetramethylene glycol; tetramethylene glycol; tetramethylene 1,4- diol with Chemical Abstract Service number 110-63-4 when any such substance is intended for human ingestion;

   [(34)] (33)  2,5-dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylthiophenethylamine (2C‑T-7), its optical isomers, salts, and salts of isomers;

   [(35)] (34)  N-benzylpiperazine (BZP; 1-benzylpiperazine) its optical isomers, salts, and salts of isomers;

   [(36)] (35)  1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine (TFMPP), its optical isomers, salts, and salts of isomers;

   [(37)] (36)  Alpha-methyltryptamine (AMT), its isomers, salts, and salts of isomers;

   [(38)] (37)  5-methoxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (5‑MeO‑DIPT), its isomers, salts, and salts of isomers;

   [(39)] (38)  Salvia divinorum;

   [(40)] (39)  Salvinorin A;

   [(41)] (40)  Divinorin A;

   [(42)] (41)  5-Methoxy-N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DIPT) (some trade or other names:  5-methoxy-3-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]indole; 5-MeO-DMT);

   [(43)] (42)  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylphenyl)ethanamine (2C‑E);

   [(44)] (43)  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-methylphenyl)ethanamine (2C‑D);

   [(45)] (44)  2-(4-Chloro-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C‑C);

   [(46)] (45)  2-(4-Iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-I);

   [(47)] (46)  2-[4-(Ethylthio)-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl]ethanamine (2C-T-2);

   [(48)] (47)  2-[4-(Isopropylthio)-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl]ethanamine (2C-T-4);

   [(49)] (48)  2-(2,5-Dimethoxyphenyl)ethanamine (2C-H);

   [(50)] (49)  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-nitro-phenyl)ethanamine (2C‑N);

   [(51)] (50)  2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-(n)-propylphenyl)ethanamine (2C-P);

   [(52)] (51)  2-(4-iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine, its optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts, and salts of isomers (Other names:  25I-NBOMe; 2C-I-NBOMe; 25I; Cimbi-5);

   [(53)] (52)  2-(4-chloro-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine, its optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts, and salts of isomers (Other names:  25C-NBOMe; 2C-C-NBOMe; 25C; Cimbi-82); and

   [(54)] (53)  2-(4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)-N-(2-methoxybenzyl)ethanamine, its optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts, and salts of isomers (Other names:  25B-NBOMe; 2C-B-NBOMe; 25B; Cimbi-36)."

     SECTION 5.  Section 712-1244, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of promoting a harmful drug in the first degree if the person knowingly:

     (a)  Possesses one hundred or more capsules or tablets or dosage units containing one or more of the harmful drugs or one or more of the marijuana concentrates, or any combination thereof;

     (b)  Possesses one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances, of an aggregate weight of one ounce or more containing one or more of the harmful drugs or one or more of the marijuana concentrates, or any combination thereof;

     (c)  Distributes twenty-five or more capsules or tablets or dosage units containing one or more of the harmful drugs or one or more of the marijuana concentrates, or any combination thereof;

     (d)  Distributes one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances, of an aggregate weight of one- eighth ounce or more, containing one or more of the harmful drugs or one or more of the marijuana concentrates, or any combination thereof; or

     (e)  Distributes any harmful drug or any marijuana concentrate in any amount to a minor."

     SECTION 6.  Section 712-1245, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of promoting a harmful drug in the second degree if the person knowingly:

     (a)  Possesses fifty or more capsules or tablets or dosage units containing one or more of the harmful drugs or one or more of the marijuana concentrates, or any combination thereof;

     (b)  Possesses one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances, of an aggregate weight of one- eighth ounce or more, containing one or more of the harmful drugs or one or more of the marijuana concentrates, or any combination thereof; or

     (c)  Distributes any harmful drug or any marijuana concentrate in any amount."

     SECTION 7.  Section 712-1246, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of promoting a harmful drug in the third degree if the person knowingly possesses twenty-five or more capsules or tablets or dosage units containing one or more of the harmful drugs or one or more of the marijuana concentrates, or any combination thereof."

     SECTION 8.  Section 712-1247, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of promoting a detrimental drug in the first degree if the person knowingly:

     (a)  Possesses four hundred or more capsules or tablets containing one or more of the Schedule V substances;

     (b)  Possesses one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances of an aggregate weight of one ounce or more, containing one or more of the Schedule V substances;

     (c)  Distributes fifty or more capsules or tablets containing one or more of the Schedule V substances;

     (d)  Distributes one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances of an aggregate weight of one‑eighth ounce or more, containing one or more of the Schedule V substances;

     (e)  Possesses one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances of an aggregate weight of one pound or more, containing any marijuana;

     (f)  Distributes one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances of an aggregate weight of one ounce or more, containing any marijuana;

     (g)  Possesses, cultivates, or has under the person's control twenty-five or more marijuana plants; or

     (h)  Sells or barters any marijuana or any Schedule V substance in any amount."

     SECTION 9.  Section 712-1248, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of promoting a detrimental drug in the second degree if the person knowingly:

     (a)  Possesses fifty or more capsules or tablets containing one or more of the Schedule V substances;

     (b)  Possesses one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances, of an aggregate weight of one-eighth ounce or more, containing one or more of the Schedule V substances;

     (c)  Possesses one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures, or substances, of an aggregate weight of one ounce or more, containing any marijuana; or

     (d)  Distributes any marijuana or any Schedule V substance in any amount."

     SECTION 10.  Section 712-1249, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree if the person knowingly possesses any marijuana or any Schedule V substance in any amount."

     SECTION 11.  Section 712-1249.4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of commercial promotion of marijuana in the first degree if the person knowingly:

     (a)  Possesses marijuana having an aggregate weight of twenty-five pounds or more;

     (b)  Distributes marijuana having an aggregate weight of five pounds or more;

     (c)  Possesses, cultivates, or has under the person's control one hundred or more marijuana plants;

     (d)  Cultivates on land owned by another person, including land owned by the government or other legal entity, twenty-five or more marijuana plants, unless the person has the express permission from the owner of the land to cultivate the marijuana or the person has a legal or an equitable ownership interest in the land or the person has a legal right to occupy the land; or

     (e)  Uses, or causes to be used, any firearm or other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, which in the manner used is capable of causing death, serious bodily injury, substantial bodily injury, or other bodily injury, as defined in chapter 707 in order to prevent the theft, removal, search and seizure, or destruction of marijuana."

     SECTION 12.  Section 712-1249.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (1) to read as follows:

     "(1)  [A] Except as otherwise provided in chapter      , a person commits the offense of commercial promotion of marijuana in the second degree if the person knowingly:

     (a)  Possesses marijuana having an aggregate weight of two pounds or more;

     (b)  Distributes marijuana having an aggregate weight of one pound or more;

     (c)  Possesses, cultivates, or has under the person's control fifty or more marijuana plants;

     (d)  Cultivates on land owned by another person, including land owned by the government or other legal entity, any marijuana plant, unless the person has the express permission from the owner of the land to cultivate the marijuana or the person has a legal or an equitable ownership interest in the land or the person has a legal right to occupy the land; or

     (e)  Sells or barters any marijuana or any Schedule V substance in any amount to a minor."

     SECTION 13.  Each person arrested or convicted for an offense under chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, or under part IV of chapter 712, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the basis of which is an act that is permitted by the new chapter of the Hawaii Revised Statutes established in section 2 of this Act, shall be entitled to:

     (1)  Release from the custody of law enforcement or incarceration no later than          days after the effective date of this Act, unless the person is also in custody or incarcerated for an offense that is not permitted by the new chapter of the Hawaii Revised Statutes established in section 2 of this Act; and

     (2)  An expungement order, issued within      days after the effective date of this Act, from the court in which the person was arraigned or convicted, that annuls, cancels, and rescinds the record of arrest and record of conviction, as applicable, for the relevant offense; provided that an expungement order shall not be issued for a person if the State, the department of the attorney general, or the applicable prosecuting attorney demonstrates good cause against the issuance of the order for that person.

     SECTION 14.  Except as provided in section 13, this Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 15.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 16.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Cannabis; Decriminalization; Release; Expungement

 

Description:

Decriminalizes and legalizes the personal use, possession, and sale of cannabis in a specified quantity.  Entitles persons arrested or convicted of certain marijuana offenses from custody or incarceration.  Entitles certain persons to the expungement of their arrest and conviction records, unless the prosecutor can demonstrate good cause against the issuance of an expungement order.

 

 

 

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