Eight states have now passed laws governing recreational use of marijuana, and marijuana advocates believe it’s only a matter of time until Hawaii does the same.
“I think it makes perfect sense because so many people, whether they want to admit it or not, have or do cannabis regularly,” said Paul Klink, of the Honolulu Wellness Center.
Lawmakers will probably introduce pot bills in the coming legislative session. But House Majority Leader Scott Saiki thinks passing one isn’t likely until medical marijuana dispensaries are opened and the industry’s procedures are finalized.
“Our state medical marijuana program is still not really off the ground, even though we authorized dispensaries a couple of years ago,” he said.
Other states moved to legalize before their dispensary programs fully launched.
Hawaii lawmakers must consider that in three states where recreational and medical pot are legal, demand for medicinal weed dropped. Dispensaries in Washington state report the pool of patients fell to 13,000 from an estimate of 100,000.
“Sometimes the dispensaries will see a dip in business when they go from medical use to recreational use. But the only clients that they’re losing are the ones that were probably getting it on the black market to begin with,” Klink said.
Meanwhile, Alan Shinn, executive director of the the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii, thinks a lot could change when Donald Trump becomes president. “What’s his policy on just drug control in general? On marijuana? We really don’t know. That may play into this whole scenario,” he said.
Especially if Chris Christie becomes involved.
“It’s certainly a reason to be concerned about a Trump administration,” Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said on this week’s Cannabist Show. “While Donald Trump has been sometimes supportive, sometimes not, sometimes falling in between on marijuana issues, Chris Christie has been pretty darn clear about where he stands — and it’s not been favorable to the industry.”
“At the end of the day, even Christie and Giuliani can probably read a poll,” Vicente said, pointing not only to legalization’s big day at the polls on Nov. 8, 2016, but also the most recent national polls that show 63 percent of Americans supporting legal marijuana.
Watch the full interview — with West, Vicente and Cannabist editor Ricardo Baca — above.
Watch the full episode of The Cannabist Show
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