Hawaii Governor Signs Hemp Bill That Requires Product Distributors and Retailers To Register with The State

Hawaii’s bill, which was signed into law this week, establishes new hemp product rules in the state. Distributors and retailers must register with the Department of Health.

The Governor signed HB1482, a new law. Josh Green, (D) signed HB 1482 on July 2. It also restricts the sale hemp tinctures for consumers over 21. The law will take effect on January 1, 2026.

The DOH will be able to confiscate and seize products derived from hemp if they so choose. Further, the law clarifies that illegal hemp activities fall under state laws against unfair practices and deceptive or unfair business practices as well as laws to eliminate nuisances.

Also included are provisions on processing. This specifies the Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation of California will be in charge of a hemp-processing program.

Funds will come from an state Hemp Processing Special Fund to pay for the creation of the new registry.

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Separately last week, Green signed into law a bill meant to expand access to medical marijuana after previously calling one of its provisions “a grave violation of privacy.”

This law introduces two major reforms in terms of patient access. First, the primary medical provider can recommend marijuana to a patient for whatever condition they deem appropriate, whether or not it is a qualifying condition under Hawaii’s laws. Patients can also receive recommendations for medical cannabis through telehealth sessions, rather than having an in-person relationship.

A conference committee revised this plan before lawmakers passed the bill on to Green. They added a clause allowing the Department of Health of the State to have access to medical marijuana records kept by doctors, for whatever reason.

According to the revised bill, the Department of Health is authorized “to inspect a patient’s certified medical record held by a physician, an advanced practice registered nursing, or hospice who has issued the written certification.” If providers do not provide the department with patient records, their license to distribute medical cannabis could be revoked.

A new provision creates a Class C felony charge for the unlicensed operation a marijuana dispensary. This is a major addition to existing state laws that prohibit illegal distribution of cannabis.

In early June, Green himself put the cannabis measure on a list of bills he intended to veto—an indication, though not a commitment, that he was leaning towards rejecting it.

Other measures recently sent to the governor’s desk include SB 1429, which would allow medical marijuana caregivers to grow marijuana on behalf of up to five patients rather than the current one. Green signed the bill at the end of last month.

Lawmakers also recently sent a bill to the governor that would help speed the expungement process for people hoping to clear their records of past marijuana-related offenses—a proposal Green signed into law in April.

That measure, HB 132, from Rep. David Tarnas (D), is intended to expedite expungements happening through a pilot program signed into law last year by Gov. Josh Green (D). The program will eliminate the distinction made between marijuana and Schedule V drugs in the context of expungement.

Bill’s supporters said that the existing wording in the law requires state officials manually to search through thousands of criminal histories to determine which records are eligible to be expunged under the pilot project.

Hawaii’s Senate back in February narrowly defeated a separate proposal that would have increased fivefold the amount of cannabis that a person could possess without risk of criminal charges. The body voted 12–11 against the decriminalization measure, SB 319, from Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D).

If the bill had become law, the amount of marijuana decriminalized would have been increased from 3 to 15 grams. The possession of up to 15 grams of marijuana would be considered a civil offense punishable with a $130 fine.

A Senate Bill that was intended to legalize marijuana for adults has subsequently been stalled. SB 1613 was unable to get out of committee in time for a legislative deadline.

While advocates felt there was sufficient support for the legalization proposal in the Senate, it’s widely believed that House lawmakers would have ultimately scuttled the measure, as they did last month with a legalization companion bill, HB 1246.

Last session, a Senate-passed legalization bill also fizzled out in the House.

This year’s House vote to stall the bill came just days after approval from a pair of committees at a joint hearing. The panels had received almost 300 pages of testimonies from various state agencies, advocacy groups and the general public.

This past fall, regulators solicited proposals to assess the state’s current medical marijuana program—and also sought to estimate demand for recreational sales if the state eventually moves forward with adult-use legalization. Others interpreted the move to be a signal that regulators needed to get ready for the reform.