HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

661

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to medical marijuana.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that Act 241, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, established a regulatory system for medical marijuana dispensaries that was codified as chapter 329D, Hawaii Revised Statutes.  Pursuant to Act 241, the department of health began administering the medical marijuana dispensary program in 2016.  Dispensaries may begin to dispense medical marijuana and manufactured medical marijuana products in 2017 with departmental approval.  

     The legislature further finds that the medical marijuana dispensary task force recommended policies and procedures for the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries.  However, a minority group of the task force expressed many concerns about the safety of marijuana and manufactured marijuana products that, in their view, were not sufficiently addressed.  These concerns include protecting adolescent brain development from impairment; preventing fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, a range of lifelong disabilities among infants born to substance-using mothers; and preventing and reducing injuries and deaths associated with marijuana-impaired driving.

     According to a 2015 study by the state of Colorado, entitled "Marijuana equivalency in portion and dosage", the average potencies of products sold in Colorado are approximately 17.1 per cent for cannabis flowers and 62.1 per cent for marijuana extracts.  Furthermore, according to a 2015 study entitled "Alcohol and drug treatment services: Hawaii 5-year trends (2010-2014)", marijuana was the primary illicit substance used by the majority of adolescents seventeen years old and younger seeking treatment (61.2 per cent), followed by alcohol (28.1 per cent).

     In addition, according to a "4P’s plus" survey for Hawaii covering the years 2007 to 2015, 8.6 per cent of the women surveyed reported that they had used marijuana a month before they knew they were pregnant, and that 8.9 per cent reported that they had used any amount of marijuana in the last month during a known pregnancy.

     Marijuana can impair driving skills and increase the risk of accidents.  Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the principal psychoactive constituent of marijuana.  A review of fatality analysis reporting system data for Hawaii for the years 1991 to 2014 found that driving fatalities involving those with THC in their systems increased from 4.8 per cent to 14.9 per cent, or from twenty-eight fatalities to one hundred fifty, since 2000, the year medical marijuana was legalized. 

     The 2016 surgeon general’s report on alcohol, drugs and health, entitled "Facing addiction in America", states that because many manufactured marijuana products are unregulated even in states that have legalized marijuana use, users may not have accurate information about the dosage or potency of those products.  This could lead to serious consequences such as hospitalizations for psychosis and other overdose-related symptoms.

     Presently, section 329D-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires the department of health to establish and enforce standards for laboratory-based testing of marijuana and manufactured marijuana products prior to their sale.  The chemical profile of the required batch testing includes delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol levels, among other compounds and contaminants.  Furthermore, the University of Hawaii is authorized pursuant to section 304A-1865, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to conduct testing and research regarding marijuana plant cannabinoid content and concentration, purity of manufactured marijuana products, or additional testing requested by the department of health.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to protect the health and welfare of the general public by setting limits on the potency of tetrahydrocannabinol in manufactured marijuana products sold in the State, and to require public notification of the health risks associated with the consumption of products containing potency levels of more than ten per cent.

     SECTION 2.  Section 329D-9, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

     "(c)  A manufacturer of a manufactured marijuana product shall calculate the equivalent physical weight of the marijuana that is used to manufacture the product and shall make the equivalency calculations available to the department and to a consumer of the manufactured marijuana product[.]; provided that the potency level of tetrahydrocannabinol contained within each manufactured marijuana product shall not exceed twelve per cent."

     SECTION 3.  Section 329D-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Any capsule, lozenge, or pill containing marijuana or its principal psychoactive constituent tetrahydrocannabinol shall be packaged so that one dose, serving, or single wrapped item contains no more than ten milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol; provided that the potency level of tetrahydrocannabinol contained in each manufactured marijuana product shall not exceed twelve per cent; provided further that no manufactured marijuana product that is sold in a pack of multiple doses, servings, or single wrapped items, nor any containers of oils, shall contain more than a total of one hundred milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol per pack or container.  The packaging of each manufactured marijuana product shall include wording substantially similar to the following, in bold capital letters that are not less than a fourteen-point font:

     "WARNING:  THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF MARIJUANA WITH THC POTENCY LEVELS OF 10 PERCENT AND OVER ARE UNKNOWN.""

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Medical Marijuana; Products; Potency; Limitations; Labeling

 

Description:

Limits tetrahydrocannabinol levels in manufactured marijuana products.  Requires warning labels on packaging.

 

 

 

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