Data as of 2026-06-07

Hawaii

Hawaii operates a medical-only cannabis program; no adult-use legalization has been enacted. Medical use was legalized by Act 228 SLH 2000, and Act 241 SLH 2015 created the licensed dispensary system, with the first retail sale on August 8, 2017. The program is statutorily capped at eight vertically integrated dispensary licenses (HRS §329D-2), allocated by county — three on Oahu, two in Hawaii County, two on Maui, and one on Kauai. All eight licensees are operational, collectively running 13 production centers and 25 retail dispensing locations as of December 10, 2024 — 1.73 retail locations per 100,000 residents. As of April 30, 2026, 28,897 patients held a valid medical cannabis registration. Medical cannabis is taxed under the general excise tax rather than a cannabis-specific excise: a 4 percent state rate plus a 0.5 percent county surcharge, 4.5 percent effective. General excise tax collected on medical cannabis rose from $99,871 in calendar-year 2017 to $2,937,877 in calendar-year 2024. Hawaii publishes no annual gross-sales total; a single cross-validated figure recorded $5,336,706 in dispensary sales in March 2025. A state-commissioned analysis estimated the legal medical market at roughly 33 percent of total past-month cannabis spending across all sources.

Market

Licensing & Market

Hawaii's medical program is built on eight statewide dispensary licenses, a statutory cap set by HRS §329D-2 that the count has never exceeded. Each license is a single vertically integrated entity holding both production (cultivation and manufacturing) and retail dispensing authority; production and retail sites may not be co-located. All eight licensees are operational — a 100 percent activation rate — collectively running 13 production centers and 25 retail dispensing locations as of December 10, 2024. That is 5.53 cultivation-authorized licensees per million residents on a license basis, 8.99 per million counted by production center, and 1.73 retail locations per 100,000 residents. Licenses may not be sold, assigned, or transferred (HRS §329D-2), and applicants must be Hawaii residents with majority Hawaii-resident ownership (HRS §329D-3); the required residency duration could not be confirmed from the public record reachable here. Licenses are allocated by county by statute — three Honolulu, two Hawaii County, two Maui, one Kauai — so Hawaii has no municipal opt-in or opt-out framework. The state tracks product through BioTrack. Application and license fees are not published as clean scalars; an initial per-licensee license fee is reflected in the $600,000 collected in 2016 across the eight licensees, and renewal fees, set since 2023 by a four-factor formula, totaled $961,250 across all licensees in 2024.

Field Value Source
Cultivator licenses awarded 8 [5]
Cultivator licenses operational 8 [6]
Cultivator activation rate 100% [7]
Operating cultivators per million 5.53 [8]
Retail licenses awarded 8 [9]
Retail licenses operational 8 [10]
Retail activation rate 100% [7]
Dispensaries per 100k 1.73 [11]
Vertical integration required [12]
License caps exist Yes [13]
Licenses transferable No [14]
Residency required Yes [15]
Residency duration (months) Not available in the public record —
Municipalities allowing Not available in the public record —
Municipalities total Not available in the public record —
Municipal opt-in rate Not available in the public record —
Track-and-trace system BioTrack [16]
Cultivator application fee Not available in the public record —
Cultivator annual fee Not available in the public record —
Retail application fee Not available in the public record —
Retail annual fee Not available in the public record —
Consumers

Consumer Rules

Registered qualifying patients and primary caregivers may possess an "adequate supply" of up to four ounces of usable cannabis and may cultivate up to ten plants at a registered grow site (HRS §329-121). The four-ounce ceiling is a holding limit tracked against each patient through BioTrack, not a strict per-transaction cap; the state sets no separate per-transaction limits for concentrates or edibles. Permitted products include whole flower, pre-rolled flower (added April 5, 2024), and an enumerated set of manufactured forms under HAR Chapter 11-850 — oils, extracts and concentrates, capsules, lozenges, tinctures, ointments, transdermal patches, and sealed inhalation devices; low-THC hemp-derived gummies and beverages were added December 6, 2024. Direct-to-patient home delivery is not authorized: HAR Chapter 11-850 permits inter-facility transport between licensed sites, and patients must obtain product in person. On-premises consumption is not authorized, and there is no licensed consumption-lounge category.

Field Value Source
Home grow allowed Yes [17]
Home grow plant limit 10 [18]
Possession limit (oz) 4 [19]
Delivery legal No [20]
Delivery operational No [21]
Consumption lounges legal No [22]
Consumption lounges count 0 [23]
Purchase limit, flower (oz) 4 [24]
Purchase limit, concentrate (g) Not available in the public record —
Purchase limit, edibles (mg) Not available in the public record —
All product forms legal Yes [25]
Restricted product forms Permitted manufactured-product forms are enumerated by rule (HAR 11-850): capsules, lozenges, pills, oils/extracts/concentrates, tinctures, ointments/skin lotions, transdermal patches, pre-filled sealed inhalation containers, and (per Act 263 SLH 2023, eff. Dec 6 2024) low-THC hemp-derived gummies and beverages. Whole flower (usable cannabis) is sold to patients; pre-rolled flower ('pre-rolls') was added as a permitted manufactured product effective April 5, 2024 (Act 108 SLH 2023). [26]
Taxes

Taxation

Hawaii imposes no cannabis-specific excise or potency tax. Medical cannabis is taxed only under the general excise tax — a 4 percent state rate (HRS Chapter 237) — plus a 0.5 percent county surcharge now levied by all four counties, for a 4.5 percent effective rate. Medical cannabis is not tax-exempt. The effective rate has risen as counties adopted the surcharge, most recently Maui effective January 1, 2024, bringing all four counties to 4.5 percent; the 4 percent state base rate is unchanged. General excise tax collected on medical cannabis was $2,937,877 in calendar-year 2024 — $2.03 per resident — and totaled $14,419,794 cumulatively through 2024.

Field Value Source
Excise tax Not available in the public record —
Excise tax type none [27]
Sales tax 4% [28]
Wholesale tax Not available in the public record —
Potency tax exists No [29]
Potency tax, flower Not available in the public record —
Potency tax, concentrate Not available in the public record —
Potency tax, edibles Not available in the public record —
Local tax (max) 0.5% [30]
Local tax (typical) 0.5% [31]
Total effective rate 4.5% [32]
Medical tax exempt No [33]
Medical tax rate 4.5% [34]
Annual tax revenue $2,937,877 [35]
Tax revenue per capita $2.03 [36]
Tax changed since legalization Yes [37]
Tax direction increased [38]
Operators

Operator Data

Hawaii publishes no annual gross-sales total for medical cannabis. The cleanest periodic figure in the public record is a single month: BioTrack recorded $5,336,706 in dispensary sales in March 2025, cross-validated against survey data to within 98.6 percent in a state-commissioned analysis. The state publishes no wholesale price index, no retail price series, and no operator-margin data, so price compression and margins cannot be quantified from public sources. All eight dispensary licenses remain active, and the count has held at eight since the program began, so there is no license attrition to report at the license level. At the facility level, the regulator notes at least one Maui retail location closed following the 2023 wildfires.

Field Value Source
Wholesale flower ($/lb) Not available in the public record —
Wholesale flower period Not available in the public record —
Wholesale trend Not available in the public record —
Wholesale price compression Not available in the public record —
Retail flower ($/oz) Not available in the public record —
Operator margin Not available in the public record —
Total market sales Not available in the public record —
Adult-use sales Not available in the public record —
Per-capita sales Not available in the public record —
YoY sales growth Not available in the public record —
License attrition (count) Not available in the public record —
License attrition Not available in the public record —
Peak cultivation licenses 8 [39]
Current cultivation licenses 8 [40]
Outcomes

Consumer Data

Per-capita legal sales cannot be stated because Hawaii publishes no annual sales total. The market is served by 1.73 retail dispensing locations per 100,000 residents. A state-commissioned analysis estimated the legal medical market at roughly 33 percent of total past-month cannabis spending across all sources (medical, gray-market, and illicit); the same analysis found the regulated dispensary system captured 86 to 87 percent of registered medical patients' spending specifically. The state publishes no retail price trend.

Field Value Source
Per-capita sales Not available in the public record —
Dispensaries per 100k 1.73 [11]
Legal market capture 33% [41]
Legal capture source Cannabis Public Policy Consulting (CPPC), 'An Economic Analysis of the Current Medical and Future Adult-Use Cannabis Market in Hawai'i' (Dec 19, 2025), commissioned by Hawaii DOH OMCCR — legal medical market ~33% of total (medical + gray + illicit) past-month market; the regulated dispensary system captures 86-87% of medical-patient spending specifically. [42]
Retail price trend Not available in the public record —
Equity

Equity Programs

Hawaii's eight-license, capital-intensive medical program has no social-equity license tier, preference, or fund, and there is no adult-use program. The state-commissioned analysis noted that legacy farmers and small applicants showed low willingness to pay for licenses and recommended fee waivers if diverse participation is sought under any future adult-use framework. Expungement is available but limited: Act 273 SLH 2019 created a petition-based process to clear prior convictions for possession of three grams or less, and 2023 legislation (HB1595) established a state-initiated expungement pilot for minor possession records in Hawaii County. Expungement is not statewide and not automatic, and no count of records expunged is published.

Field Value Source
Equity program exists No [43]
Equity program type Not available in the public record —
Equity licenses awarded Not available in the public record —
Equity licenses operational Not available in the public record —
Equity activation rate Not available in the public record —
Equity fund exists No [44]
Equity fund size Not available in the public record —
Equity fund disbursed Not available in the public record —
Equity fund disbursement rate Not available in the public record —
Minority ownership Not available in the public record —
Women ownership Not available in the public record —
Community reinvestment Not available in the public record —
Expungement exists Yes [45]
Expungement automatic No [46]
Expungements processed Not available in the public record —
Income cap for equity Not available in the public record —
Enforcement

Enforcement

Hawaii tracks regulated product through BioTrack. Oversight rests with a field staff capped at five surveyors and one dispensary licensing supervisor — six positions — which the regulator's own annual report flags as inadequate for the program's size. Surveyors identified 75 licensing violations between January 1 and December 1, 2024, most commonly labeling violations under HAR 11-850-143; the annual violation count had peaked at 136 in 2023. Beyond the violation tally, the state does not publish inspection counts, formal fine or suspension actions, illicit-market enforcement, the regulatory operating budget, mandatory testing analytes, per-batch testing cost, or annual recall counts in a form that can be sourced — not because the activity does not occur, but because the regulator does not report these figures.

Field Value Source
Track-and-trace system BioTrack [16]
Inspections per year Not available in the public record —
Enforcement actions (licensees) 75 [48]
Unlicensed-market enforcement actions Not available in the public record —
Regulatory budget Not available in the public record —
Regulatory staff 6 [49]
Mandatory testing analytes Not available in the public record —
Testing cost per batch Not available in the public record —
Product recalls per year Not available in the public record —
Fine schedule (min) Not available in the public record —
Fine schedule (max) Not available in the public record —
Criminal Law

Penalties & Criminal Law

Cannabis penalties in Hawaii have moved only in the lenient direction since the medical dispensary program began under Act 241 SLH 2015; no possession, sale, or cultivation penalty has been increased. Act 273 SLH 2019 decriminalized possession of three grams or less to a $130 civil violation, effective January 11, 2020. Possession above three grams up to one ounce is a petty misdemeanor (HRS §712-1249); possession of one pound — 453.6 grams — or more is promoting a detrimental drug in the first degree, a class C felony carrying up to five years and a $10,000 fine (HRS §712-1247). Unlicensed cultivation of 100 or more plants, and distribution of five pounds or more, are class A felonies carrying up to 20 years and a $50,000 fine (HRS §712-1249.4). Registered patients who exceed the four-ounce, ten-plant adequate-supply limit lose the medical-use affirmative defense. Hawaii sets no per se THC blood limit for impaired driving, relying instead on an impairment standard (HRS §291E-61). Post-legalization arrest counts and racial-disparity ratios are not asserted here as primary figures: the available series — 284 cannabis arrests reported for 2024, and a 1.78-to-1 Black-to-white possession-arrest ratio — are secondary compilations of federal data, the arrest count an acknowledged undercount and the disparity ratio drawn from 2010 to 2018 data predating decriminalization.

Field Value Source
Max penalty, unlicensed cultivation Cultivating, possessing, or having under one's control 100 or more marijuana plants is commercial promotion of marijuana in the first degree, a class A felony (up to 20 years imprisonment and a fine up to $50,000) under HRS §712-1249.4. Lower cultivation tiers (25-100 plants) are class B/class C felonies under HRS §§712-1249.5 / 712-1249.6. Registered patients/caregivers may grow up to 10 plants (HRS §329-121). [50]
Max penalty, unlicensed sale Distribution of five pounds or more of marijuana is commercial promotion of marijuana in the first degree, a class A felony (up to 20 years and $50,000) under HRS §712-1249.4; distribution of one to five pounds is a class B felony (up to 10 years and $25,000) under HRS §712-1249.5. Distribution of any amount up to one ounce is the misdemeanor offense of promoting a detrimental drug. [51]
Felony threshold (grams) 453.6 [52]
Felony threshold type possession [53]
Penalty, possession over limit Possession of three grams or less is a civil violation with a $130 fine (Act 273 SLH 2019). Over 3 g up to 1 oz is promoting a detrimental drug in the third degree, a petty misdemeanor (HRS §712-1249). One ounce to one pound is a misdemeanor; one pound or more is promoting a detrimental drug in the first degree, a class C felony (up to 5 years and $10,000) under HRS §712-1247. A registered patient exceeding the 4 oz / 10 plant 'adequate supply' loses the medical-use affirmative defense. [54]
Penalty, public consumption Hawaii has no standalone cannabis public-consumption criminal statute. Registered medical patients may not consume cannabis in any public place and forfeit the medical-use defense if they do (Hawaii DOH Medical Cannabis Registry use restrictions); public possession/use is otherwise enforced through the general detrimental-drug possession offenses (HRS §§712-1247 to 712-1249) by quantity. [55]
DUI per se limit (ng) Not available in the public record [56]
DUI zero tolerance No [57]
Penalties increased post-legalization No [58]
Penalty direction lighter [59]
Penalty direction details Since Hawaii established its medical cannabis dispensary system (Act 241 SLH 2015; first sales 2017), every material change to marijuana penalties has moved in the lenient direction: Act 273 SLH 2019 (HB1383) decriminalized possession of 3 grams or less to a $130 civil violation (effective Jan 11, 2020), and 2023 legislation (HB1595) created a state-initiated expungement pathway for minor possession records (Hawaii County pilot). No marijuana possession, sale, or cultivation penalty was increased during this period. [60]
Post-legalization arrests (annual) 284 [61]
Racial disparity ratio 1.78 [62]
Expungement exists Yes [45]
Expungement automatic No [46]

Sources

  1. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 Population Estimates (NST-EST2024-POP), state of Hawaii https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-state-total.html
  2. ↑ USPS / U.S. Census Bureau standard two-letter abbreviation for Hawaii https://www.census.gov/library/reference/code-lists/ansi.html
  3. ↑ Dashboard compilation date 2026-06-07. Underlying vintages: HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report to the 34th Legislature (data as of Dec 10, 2024, published Jan 2025); Medical Cannabis Registry program data (April 30, 2026); CPPC economic analysis (Dec 19, 2025); Census Vintage 2024 population; Hawaii Dept of Taxation county-surcharge schedule (current) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  4. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2024 Population Estimates (NST-EST2024-POP), Hawaii July 1, 2024 = 1,446,146 https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2024/state/totals/NST-EST2024-POP.xlsx
  5. ↑ HRS §329D-2 caps the program at eight dispensary licenses statewide (3 Honolulu, 2 Hawaii County, 2 Maui, 1 Kauai); each vertically integrated licensee may operate up to three production (cultivation/manufacturing) centers. HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  6. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025), Table 1 — all eight licensees are operational, collectively running 13 operational production centers as of Dec 10, 2024 https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  7. ↑ CALC: 8 operational licensees / 8 awarded licenses x 100 = 100%.
  8. ↑ CALC: 8 cultivation-authorized dispensary licensees / (1,446,146 / 1,000,000) = 5.53 per million. (Facility-basis: 13 operational production centers = 8.99 per million.)
  9. ↑ HRS §329D-2 — eight statewide dispensary licenses; each licensee may operate up to two retail dispensing locations (with additional rural/underserved locations allowed by DOH). HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  10. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025), Table 1 — all eight licensees are operational, collectively running 25 operational retail dispensing locations as of Dec 10, 2024 https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  11. ↑ CALC: 25 operational retail dispensing locations (HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report, Dec 10 2024) / (1,446,146 / 100,000) = 1.73 per 100K https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  12. ↑ HRS Chapter 329D — each dispensary licensee is a single vertically integrated entity holding both production (cultivation + manufacturing) and retail dispensing authority under one license; production and retail sites may not be co-located. HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  13. ↑ HRS §329D-2 statutorily caps the program at eight dispensary licenses statewide. HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025): 'Section 329D-2, HRS, directed the Department of Health to issue eight dispensary licenses statewide.' https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  14. ↑ HRS §329D-2 — a medical cannabis dispensary license may not be sold, assigned, or otherwise transferred from one person to another https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0329D/HRS_0329D-0002.htm
  15. ↑ HRS §329D-3 — dispensary license applicants must be Hawaii legal residents (majority Hawaii-resident ownership/control) and meet statutory financial-resources requirements https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0329D/HRS_0329D-0003.htm
  16. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025), Table 3 footnote — 'Source: BioTrack THC Electronic Seed-to-Sale Tracking System.' https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  17. ↑ HRS §§329-121 & 329-122 — a registered qualifying patient (or primary caregiver) may cultivate medical cannabis at a registered grow site as part of the patient's 'adequate supply.' https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/growing-cannabis/
  18. ↑ HRS §329-121 definition of 'adequate supply' — shall not exceed 'ten cannabis plants, whether immature or mature, and four ounces of usable cannabis at any given time.' https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0329/HRS_0329-0121.htm
  19. ↑ HRS §329-121 definition of 'adequate supply' — not more than ten plants and 'four ounces of usable cannabis at any given time' (the 4 oz includes any combination of usable cannabis and manufactured cannabis products) https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0329/HRS_0329-0121.htm
  20. ↑ Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 11-850 authorizes inter-facility transport of cannabis between licensed sites but does not authorize direct retail home delivery to patients; patients/caregivers must obtain product in person at a licensed retail location https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/files/2024/12/Ch11-850_InterimRules_12-6-2024.pdf
  21. ↑ No direct-to-patient retail delivery is authorized or operating in Hawaii's medical program (HAR Chapter 11-850; in-person pickup model) https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/files/2024/12/Ch11-850_InterimRules_12-6-2024.pdf
  22. ↑ HAR Chapter 11-850 / Hawaii DOH Medical Cannabis Registry — on-premises consumption is not authorized; cannabis may not be consumed at dispensaries or in any public place https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/patients/restrictions/
  23. ↑ No state-licensed on-site consumption category exists in Hawaii; count = 0 https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/patients/restrictions/
  24. ↑ HRS §329-121 / HAR Chapter 11-850 — a patient's possession ceiling ('adequate supply') is four ounces of usable cannabis (any combination of usable cannabis and manufactured products); dispensing is tracked against this limit via BioTrack https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol06_Ch0321-0344/HRS0329/HRS_0329-0121.htm
  25. ↑ HAR Chapter 11-850 permits whole flower (usable cannabis), pre-rolled flower (added eff. April 5 2024, Act 108 SLH 2023), and an enumerated set of manufactured products (oils/extracts, capsules, lozenges, tinctures, ointments, transdermal patches, sealed inhalation devices); no major mainstream product category is prohibited https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/files/2024/12/Ch11-850_InterimRules_12-6-2024.pdf
  26. ↑ HAR Chapter 11-850 enumerates permitted manufactured-product forms; pre-rolls were added April 5 2024 (Act 108 SLH 2023) and low-THC hemp gummies/beverages Dec 6 2024 (Act 263 SLH 2023) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  27. ↑ Hawaii imposes no cannabis-specific excise or potency tax; medical cannabis is taxed only under the general excise tax (GET). HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) & Hawaii Dept of Taxation https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/get/
  28. ↑ Hawaii General Excise Tax base rate is 4% on retail sales of goods/services, including medical cannabis ('A 4% general excise tax is assessed on cannabis and manufactured cannabis products purchased at the licensed dispensaries' — HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report). HRS Chapter 237 / Hawaii Dept of Taxation https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/get/
  29. ↑ Hawaii applies a flat general excise tax to medical cannabis; no THC-potency-based tax exists. HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) / Hawaii Dept of Taxation https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/get/
  30. ↑ Hawaii counties may levy a 0.5% GET county surcharge (the statutory maximum). Hawaii Dept of Taxation county-surcharge schedule https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/
  31. ↑ All four Hawaii counties currently levy the 0.5% GET county surcharge (Honolulu since 2007, Kauai 2019, Hawaii County 2020, Maui since Jan 1, 2024). Hawaii Dept of Taxation https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/
  32. ↑ CALC: 4% state GET + 0.5% county GET surcharge = 4.5% effective rate on medical cannabis in all four counties (Maui's 0.5% surcharge took effect Jan 1, 2024) https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/
  33. ↑ Medical cannabis is NOT tax-exempt in Hawaii; the 4% GET (plus 0.5% county surcharge) applies to patient purchases. HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  34. ↑ 4.5% effective (4% GET + 0.5% county surcharge) on medical cannabis purchases. Hawaii Dept of Taxation https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/
  35. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025), Table 3 'Excise Taxes Collected' (source: BioTrack) — CY2024 medical cannabis GET collected = $2,937,877 (total to-date $14,419,794) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  36. ↑ CALC: $2,937,877 CY2024 medical cannabis GET / 1,446,146 population = $2.03 https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  37. ↑ The 4% GET base rate is unchanged, but the effective rate rose as counties adopted the 0.5% surcharge (Hawaii County 2019/2020; Maui Jan 1, 2024 — making all four counties 4.5%). Hawaii Dept of Taxation https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/
  38. ↑ Effective consumer tax rate increased via county GET surcharges (most recently Maui, Jan 1 2024). Hawaii Dept of Taxation https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/
  39. ↑ HRS §329D-2 has capped the program at eight vertically integrated dispensary (cultivation-authorized) licenses since inception; the count has never exceeded eight. HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  40. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) — all eight dispensary licensees are active and operating production centers as of Dec 10, 2024 https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  41. ↑ Cannabis Public Policy Consulting, 'An Economic Analysis of the Current Medical and Future Adult-Use Cannabis Market in Hawai'i' (Dec 19, 2025), commissioned/published by Hawaii DOH OMCCR — the legal medical market (~$5.3M/month) is roughly 33% of the total estimated past-month cannabis market across all sources ($16.5M-$32M/month) https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabis/files/2026/02/HawaiiReportDesigned_v2.pdf
  42. ↑ Cannabis Public Policy Consulting (Dec 19, 2025), commissioned by Hawaii DOH OMCCR https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabis/files/2026/02/HawaiiReportDesigned_v2.pdf
  43. ↑ Hawaii's medical cannabis dispensary program (HRS Chapter 329D) is a fixed eight-license, capital-requirement-based scheme with no social-equity license tier, preference, or fund; there is no adult-use program https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabis/
  44. ↑ No dedicated cannabis equity fund exists in Hawaii (no statutory equity program) https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabis/
  45. ↑ Act 273 SLH 2019 (HB1383) allows individuals to petition to expunge prior convictions for possession of 3 grams or less; 2023 legislation (HB1595) established a state-initiated expungement pilot for minor possession arrest records (Hawaii County) https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2019/bills/HB1383_CD1_.htm
  46. ↑ Hawaii expungement is largely petition-based (Act 273 SLH 2019); the 2023 HB1595 program is a geographically limited state-initiated pilot (Hawaii County), not statewide automatic expungement https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2019/bills/HB1383_CD1_.htm
  47. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) — BioTrack THC seed-to-sale system https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  48. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025) — OMCCR identified 75 licensing violations across licensees Jan 1-Dec 1, 2024 (most commonly HAR 11-850-143 labeling violations), communicated via the new Written Notice of Findings format https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  49. ↑ HI DOH MCDLP Annual Report (Jan 2025), staffing recommendation — OMCCR is capped at five (5) surveyors and one (1) Dispensary Licensing Supervisor (the report flags this as inadequate) https://health.hawaii.gov/opppd/files/2025/09/MCDLP-Annual-Report-Jan-2025.pdf
  50. ↑ HRS §712-1249.4 (commercial promotion of marijuana, first degree, class A felony) for 100+ plants; tiered lower felonies under HRS §§712-1249.5 / 712-1249.6 https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0712/HRS_0712-1249_0004.htm
  51. ↑ HRS §712-1249.4 (commercial promotion of marijuana, first degree, class A felony) for distribution of 5+ lbs; HRS §712-1249.5 (second degree, class B felony) for 1-5 lbs https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0712/HRS_0712-1249_0004.htm
  52. ↑ HRS §712-1247 — possession of an aggregate weight of one pound (≈453.6 g) or more containing marijuana is promoting a detrimental drug in the first degree, a class C felony https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0712/HRS_0712-1247.htm
  53. ↑ HRS §712-1247 — the one-pound felony threshold keys to possession https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0712/HRS_0712-1247.htm
  54. ↑ Act 273 SLH 2019 (≤3 g = $130 civil violation); HRS §712-1249 (>3 g-1 oz petty misdemeanor); HRS §712-1247 (1 lb+ class C felony) https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol14_Ch0701-0853/HRS0712/HRS_0712-1247.htm
  55. ↑ Hawaii DOH Medical Cannabis Registry use restrictions — medical cannabis may not be consumed in any public place; no standalone cannabis public-consumption criminal statute exists https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/patients/restrictions/
  56. ↑ Hawaii has NO numeric per se THC blood limit; impaired driving is prosecuted under the impairment standard of HRS §291E-61 https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol05_ch0261-0319/hrs0291e/hrs_0291e-0061.htm
  57. ↑ HRS §291E-61 uses an impairment-based standard for drugged driving; there is no THC zero-tolerance provision https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol05_ch0261-0319/hrs0291e/hrs_0291e-0061.htm
  58. ↑ No marijuana penalty has been increased since Hawaii's medical dispensary program began (Act 241 SLH 2015); changes (Act 273 SLH 2019 decriminalization; HB1595 2023 expungement) moved lighter https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2019/bills/HB1383_CD1_.htm
  59. ↑ Net direction since the medical program began is lighter (decriminalization 2019; expungement pilot 2023) https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2019/bills/HB1383_CD1_.htm
  60. ↑ Act 273 SLH 2019 (HB1383) decriminalized possession of 3 g or less to a $130 civil violation (eff. Jan 11, 2020); 2023 legislation (HB1595) created a state-initiated expungement pilot for minor possession records. No marijuana penalty was increased https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/sessions/session2019/bills/HB1383_CD1_.htm
  61. ↑ [SECONDARY] NORML Hawaii marijuana-arrests page compiling FBI NIBRS data — 284 marijuana arrests in 2024 (268 possession + 16 sales), an undercount due to incomplete agency reporting. Underlying primary: Hawaii Attorney General Crime in Hawaii / Hawaii Crime Dashboard https://norml.org/marijuana/library/state-marijuana-arrests/hawaii-marijuana-arrests/
  62. ↑ [SECONDARY] ACLU, 'A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform' (April 2020, 2010-2018 data) — Black people in Hawaii were 1.78x more likely than white people to be arrested for marijuana possession (among the lowest disparities nationally) https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/tale_of_two_countries_racially_targeted_arrests_in_the_era_of_marijuana_reform_revised.pdf
See all 59 sourced facts for Hawaii →