Hawaii’s full Senate passed two marijuana-related bills today, one to decriminalize the substance and one to legalize it entirely.
The Senate voted 19 to 6 today to pass Senate Bill 3335, sending it to the House of Representatives. The proposed law would legalize the possession, personal cultivation and license distribution of recreational marijuana for those 21 and older. The Hawaii Cannabis Authority and Cannabis Control Board would be established within the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and tasked with overseeing licensing and regulations for the legal marijuana industry.
The measure would place a 14% tax on recreational marijuana sales, with the tax being 4% for medical marijuana. It would allow those with convictions for marijuana-related crimes that would be legal under the bill to have the charges expunged from their record.
The Senate also voted 24 to 1 to pass Senate Bill 2487, which would decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for those 21 and older. Under current law possessing up to three grams of marijuana is decriminalized, but possessing more than three grams is a misdemeanor.
Last session the Senate voted 22 to 3 to pass a different marijuana legalization bill that ultimately stalled in the House of Representatives. However, proponents of legalization remain optimistic that the House will give the measure serious consideration, especially given that it’s modelled after an outline put forth by Attorney General Anne E. Lopez.
According to polling released last year, 52% of adults in Hawaii in support of legalizing marijuana, with just 31% opposed.
Recently we named Hawaii one of four states on track to legalize marijuana in 2024. You can find the full list by clicking here.
