HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1893

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to health.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.   The legislature finds that a nationwide drug epidemic exists related to pain relieving drugs that cause addiction, overdose, and death.  According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 2,100,000 people in the United States suffer from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers.  In this State, drug overdose deaths increased by eighty-three per cent from 2006 to 2014, a growth rate more than double the national average of thirty-seven percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control.  By 2016 the number of drug overdose deaths rose from sixty-seven in 2000 to one hundred seventy-two in 2016, as reported by The Maui News.  Opioid pain relievers have been attributed to about forty per cent of drug overdose deaths statewide over the past decade.  Opioid overdose deaths doubled from twenty-five in 2000 to fifty-nine in 2016.  As the number of people suffering and dying from substance use overdoses related to pain relieving drugs, including opioid pain relievers, increases steadily nationwide, Congress, state legislatures, and many others are looking for different methods to curb the opioid epidemic.

     The legislature further finds that cannabidiol products are not psychoactive or hallucinogenic and contain less tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component in the cannabis plant, than other medical cannabis products.  Research conducted by Professor Yasmin Hurd in her study Early Phase in the Development of Cannabidiol as a Treatment for Addiction: Opioid Relapse Takes Initial Center Stage shows that while understanding the medicinal aspects of cannabinoids is only in its infancy, the evidence collected so far appears to at least support a potential beneficial treatment for opioid abuse.  She further explains that it is specific cannabinoids that hold this psychiatric therapeutic promise, not the general marijuana plant.

     The purpose of this Act is to include the medical use of cannabidiol products as an allowable medical use of cannabis for the treatment of opioid use disorder.

     SECTION 2.  Section 329-121, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

     ""Opioid use disorder" means a problematic pattern of opioid use leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by symptoms identified in the most recent publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association."

     SECTION 3.  Section 329-121, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     1.   By amending the definition of "cannabis" to read:

     ""Cannabis" shall have the same meaning as "marijuana" and "marijuana concentrate" as provided in sections 329-1 and 712-1240[.] and shall include various forms of non-psychoactive, high cannabidiol products, including in the form of a liquid, capsule, or pill, that do not contain a significant amount of tetrahydrocannabinol."

     2.   By amending the definition of ""debilitating medical condition" to read:

     ""Debilitating medical condition" means:

     (1)  Cancer, glaucoma, lupus, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or the treatment of these conditions;

     (2)  A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:

          (A)  Cachexia or wasting syndrome;

          (B)  Severe pain;

          (C)  Severe nausea;

          (D)  Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy;

          (E)  Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis or Crohn's disease; or

          (F)  Post-traumatic stress disorder; [or]

     (3)  Opioid use disorder; provided that a qualifying patient that is or has been diagnosed with opioid use disorder shall be eligible for the medical use of only non-psychoactive, high cannabidiol products that do not contain a significant amount of tetrahydrocannabinol; or

    [(3)] (4)  Any other medical condition approved by the department of health pursuant to administrative rules in response to a request from a physician or advanced practice registered nurse or potentially qualifying patient."

     3.   By amending the definition of "medical use" to read:

     ""Medical use" means the acquisition, possession, cultivation, use, distribution, or transportation of cannabis or paraphernalia relating to the administration of cannabis to alleviate the symptoms or effects of a qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition.  In the case of opioid use disorder, "medical use" means the acquisition, possession, cultivation, use, distribution, or transportation only of various forms of non-psychoactive, high cannabidiol products that do not contain a significant amount of tetrahydrocannabinol to alleviate the symptoms or effects of a qualifying patient's opioid use disorder.  For the purposes of "medical use", the term distribution is limited to the transfer of cannabis and paraphernalia."

     SECTION 4.  Section 329-122, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

     "(c)  The authorization for the medical use of cannabis in this section shall not apply to:

     (1)  The medical use of cannabis that endangers the health or well-being of another person;

     (2)  The medical use of cannabis:

          (A)  In a school bus, public bus, or any moving vehicle;

          (B)  In the workplace of one's employment;

          (C)  On any school grounds;

          (D)  At any public park, public beach, public recreation center, recreation or youth center; or

          (E)  At any other place open to the public; provided that a qualifying patient, primary caregiver, or an owner or employee of a medical cannabis dispensary licensed under chapter 329D shall not be prohibited from transporting cannabis or any manufactured cannabis product, as that term is defined in section 329D-1, in any public place; provided further that the cannabis or manufactured cannabis product shall be transported in a sealed container, not be visible to the public, and shall not be removed from its sealed container or consumed or used in any way while it is in the public place; [and]

     (3)  The medical use of cannabis, other than the various forms of non-psychoactive, high cannabidiol products that do not contain a significant amount of tetrahydrocannabinol; and

    [(3)] (4)  The use of cannabis by a qualifying patient, parent, or primary caregiver for purposes other than medical use permitted by this part."

     SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Cannabis; Cannabidiol Products; Opioid Use Disorder

 

Description:

Includes the medical use of cannabidiol products as allowable medical uses of cannabis for opioid use disorder.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.