Hawaii’s Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to pass a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, the same day it was approved by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to pass Senate Bill 3335, filed last month by Senator Jarrett Keohokalole along with nine bipartisan cosponsors. The measure would allow those 21 and older to purchase marijuana and marijuana products from licensed marijuana retail outlets. These outlets would be supplied by licensed growers and processors, with marijuana required to be tested through licensed testing labs.
The legislation would establish the Hawaii Cannabis Authority and Cannabis Control Board within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs in order to oversee a legal marijuana market.
Earlier today the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services voted unanimously to pass the bill following a joint public hearing with the Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary Committee delayed their vote, with the vote occurring less than two hours later.
The passage of SB 3335 through the two Senate committees comes a day after a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession was approved through the House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee.
According to polling released last year, 52% of adults in Hawaii in support of legalizing marijuana, with just 31% opposed.
