Lawmakers have deferred a bill that would have set up the infrastructure to regulate a recreational marijuana program — one of several pieces of marijuana legislation that have stalled during the 2026 session.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order in December directing the U.S. Department of Justice to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III lower-risk drug.
While that federal order does not legalize recreational marijuana, Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chair Joy San Buenaventura explained that the state should have a plan in place if the substance is eventually federally legalized.
“We're not prepared for it,” she said. “The opponents want us to be unprepared for it. So it's not good.”
Her bill, which House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee Chair David Tarnas also worked on, would not have legalized recreational marijuana.
The over 300-page measure would have centralized the regulation of hemp, recreational and medical marijuana into one office. For recreational marijuana, it set up a taxation model, reserved industry licenses for residents, and created pathways for disadvantaged communities to participate in the business.
The law would have only been triggered to go into effect if the federal government legalized marijuana, or if the state passed a constitutional amendment to do so.
Nikos Leverenz with Hawaiʻi Alliance for Cannabis Reform explained that a law like this is needed to ensure local businesses will have access to the industry if it’s legalized at the federal level.
“It's very important for Hawaiʻi to position itself, to not just participate in interstate commerce if it comes, but also to provide a framework to invite broad scale participation in a local cannabis sector, including small-scale farmers on the neighbor islands, some farmers here Oʻahu as well, and to have locally owned businesses and locally owned farms really drive the cannabis sector here in this state,” he said.
“Otherwise, we're going to really leave ourselves, you know, to the mercy of players from the continent.”
However, Honolulu Prosecutor Steve Alm disagreed.
“Spending taxpayer money to set something up which may never be used is a waste of money right now,” Alm said. “I think there's an even chance that marijuana may never be legalized in Hawaiʻi.”
Alm was concerned about how it would impact teenagers and those in lower-income brackets.
Hawaiʻi Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation Chief Andrew Geoff told lawmakers during an informational briefing this week that it’s not clear what the timeline is from the federal government on when marijuana would be rescheduled, as the Drug Enforcement Administration will need to start its rulemaking process.
Geoff explained that even under Schedule III, the state’s program would not be compliant because, as of now, the Food and Drug Administration does not approve botanical drugs.
“We don't really have a lot of updates on that until the [Drug Enforcement Administration] starts the rule-making process. There is no timeline for that,” he said.
“The FDA has been asking for some kind of regulatory pathway, whether it's a new schedule or separate from the schedules, to be able to regulate cannabinoids. So we might see that as part of the Schedule III discussion … as soon as we have any guidance from the federal government, it would be ideal to be able to work in what the actual realities of our program are, with how that fits with the federal law.”
Constitutional amendment proposal also fails
A measure that would have let voters decide on legalization through a constitutional amendment, which was introduced by Tarnas, has also stalled this session.
New federal restrictions on hemp, which will go into effect in November, further complicate the issue. Hemp and marijuana are from the same species of plant, but what makes them different is that hemp contains 0.3% or less THC — the chemical that gets people high.
The FDA does not approve most hemp products like gummies and gels, so the state had to create its own exceptions for hemp products to be sold here. Under state law, it allows hemp products with up to 1 milligram of THC or less per serving and up to 5 milligrams of THC per container.
However, in 2025, the federal law regulating hemp changed and starting in November, will only allow 0.4 milligrams.
“That is much lower than what we currently allow,” Geoff said. “We have the authority to change potency and rules. We are planning on aligning with whatever the federal government comes out with. It goes into effect November 2026, so there's still time to change or whatever, but we have the flexibility to adapt to that.”
That’s why a bill that would allow for low-potency cannabis is continuing to advance in the Senate.
“The recommendation … is to keep this moving because there are no other vehicles to discuss the recent federal actions on the hemp industry, especially pertaining to the cultivation, processing and manufacturing of CBD products in the state of Hawaiʻi,” said Senate Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee Chair Jarrett Keohokalole during the committee’s vote on the measure.
San Buenaventura also introduced that bill and explained that it’s necessary to look at how to protect the state’s hemp industry.
“Basically without a fix, a number of these hemp farmers are going to be put out of business and ... there's a huge demand for cannabinoids, for CBD, for hemp oil,” she said.
“Contrary to what the law enforcement claims, that the only reason people try CBD is to get high – that's not true. I mean, I know a number of legislators who, at a conference on the mainland, get CBD gummies specifically so that they could help them fall asleep. It's not to get high, and so why shouldn't that be made available here in Hawaiʻi?”
One measure still being passed around
One of the few cannabis bills still being considered by lawmakers in both the House and Senate would expand access to medical marijuana to terminally ill seniors.
However, Leverenz explained that the measure has been watered down, and instead of requiring the facilities to allow use, it just gives them the option.
“It's very emblematic of the policy purgatory that the Hawaiʻi political process is engaged in when it comes to cannabis policy,” he said.
All bills need to make it to their final committee in their originating chamber by the end of the day Thursday to continue being considered this legislative session.
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