STAND. COM. REP. NO.  232

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2015

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1455

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2015

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1455 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure to improve access to medical marijuana for qualifying patients who are unable to grow their own supply by:

 

(1)  Allowing a qualifying patient or a primary caregiver to transfer marijuana plants or plant material to any other qualifying patient or primary caregiver;

 

(2)  Increasing the amount of marijuana that constitutes an adequate supply; and

 

(3)  Increasing the maximum number of qualifying patients that a primary caregiver may care for at any given time, from one caregiver for one qualifying patient, to one caregiver for no more than five qualifying patients.

 

     The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, Community Alliance on Prisons, The Libertarian Party of Hawaii, Alternative Pain Management Puuhona, Drug Policy Action Group, and numerous individuals testified in support of this measure.  The Hawaii Police Department, Honolulu Police Department, Maui Police Department, City and County of Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii, and several individuals opposed this measure.  The Department of Health, Hawaii Catholic Conference, Hawaii Family Advocates, and several individuals commented on this measure.

 

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

 

(1)  Deleting the provision allowing a qualifying patient or a primary caregiver to transfer marijuana plants or plant material to any other qualifying patient or primary caregiver;

 

(2)  Retaining existing statutory language that specifies that the amount of marijuana jointly possessed between a qualifying patient and primary caregiver shall not exceed seven marijuana plants, whether immature or mature, and four ounces of usable marijuana at any given time;

 

(3)  Decreasing the maximum number of qualifying patients that a primary caregiver may care for at any given time, from one caregiver for no more than five qualifying patients, to one caregiver for no more than three qualifying patients;

 

(4)  Specifying that a primary caregiver disclose to the Department of Health the number of qualifying patients for whom the caregiver is responsible, including the name, address, patient identification number, and other identifying information of each qualifying patient;

 

(5)  Providing that upon establishment of a medical marijuana dispensary, the primary caregiver to qualifying patient ratio shall revert to the current law of one caregiver to one qualifying patient;

 

(6)  Limiting the number of marijuana plants grown for medical marijuana use to no more than fourteen marijuana plants located at a single property defined by a single tax map key number; and

 

(7)  Changing its effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion.

 


     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1455, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1455, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

 

 

 

____________________________

DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair