Hawaii medical marijuana moves forward with cultivator licenses as the state just named it’s third cannabis cultivator, Manoa Botanicals. The company got the green light from officials to begin growing the plant in their production center on Oahu.
That means the state of Hawaii says they can obtain seeds, and grow clones and marijuana plants – for medical marijuana patients. Qualified patients are to be registered with the Medical Marijuana Patient Registry Program.
The first notices to proceed with cultivation went to to Maui Grown Therapies on Maui, and Aloha Green Holdings on Oahu. More production companies are expected to be announced in the months ahead, as inspections continue by the Hawaii Department of Health.
Requirements for cultivation centers in Hawaii include:
- Building a secure, enclosed indoor facility
- Seed to Sale tracking system
- Authorization from the Narcotics Enforcement Division of the Hawaii State Department of Public Safety
Currently, eight medical marijuana dispensaries are licensed in Hawaii.
According to KHON2 News, the winners of the first dispensary licenses are as follows: Three dispensary licenses for the City and County of Honolulu were issued to Aloha Green Holdings, Inc.; Manoa Botanicals, LLC; and TCG Retro Market 1, LLC dba Cure Oahu. Two licenses for the County of Hawaii were issued to Hawaiian Ethos, LLC and Lau Ola, LLC. Two licenses for the County of Maui were issued to Maui Wellness Group, LLC and Pono Life Sciences Maui, LLC. One license for the County of Kauai was issued to Green Aloha, Ltd.
Each dispensary licensee is allowed to operate two production centers and two retail sites for a total of 16 production centers and 16 retail dispensary locations statewide, reports KHON2 News. Each production center may grow up to three-thousand marijuana plants and Steep Hill Hawaii will test the marijuana for dispensaries across the islands.
The state is seeing progress as the implementation of regulations for Hawaii medical marijuana moves forward to protect the thirteen-thousand people that are using medical marijuana legally, according to state health records.