The Big Island reportedly has twice as many registered medical marijuana patients than Oahu. The Hawaii Department of Health shows that there are 6,100 registered patients on Hawaii Island, while Oahu has only 3,400.
Kona has 700 registered patients and Hilo has about 640 registered patients, reports Hawaii News Now. These figures are updated annually and are used to determine if and when more dispensaries may be permitted to open.
Hawaii’s medical marijuana program was slow to start given the structure of the law regarding availability on individual islands. The program hopes to expand as demand grows.