Pono Life Sciences Gets Green Light to Begin Sales of Medical Cannabis

Pono Life Sciences Maui LLC is the third licensed medical cannabis dispensary in the state to receive the green light from the Hawai‘i Department of Health to begin selling medical cannabis to registered patients and their caregivers.

Hawai‘i Department of Health issues Pono Life Sciences Maui LLC
notice to begin sales of medical cannabis to registered patients. Photo Stock

The DOH issued the formal notice to proceed on Sept. 29, 2017, after the dispensary completed laboratory testing requirements and passed its final onsite inspection.

The licensed retail center for Pono Life Sciences Maui LLC is at 415 Dairy Road in Kahului.

Guidelines for Cannabis Possession and Purchase:

• Registered patients and their caregivers may purchase up to four ounces of medical cannabis during a 15 consecutive day period and purchase a maximum of eight ounces over a 30 consecutive day period.
• All use of medical cannabis must be on private property and may not be used in a car while on the road, at work, at the beach, on hiking trails, or in any other public space.
• It is illegal to use or possess medical cannabis on any federally owned property such as military installations and national parks.
• When bringing medical cannabis home after purchasing it from a dispensary, the medical cannabis must be in a sealed container and not visible to the public.

There are eight licensed dispensaries in Hawai‘i. There are three on O‘ahu: Aloha Green Holdings Inc.; Mānoa Botanicals LLC dba Noa Botanicals; and TCG Retro Market 1, LLC dba Cure Oahu. There are two in Hawai‘i County: Hawaiian Ethos LLC and Lau Ola LLC. The two Maui dispensaries include Maui Wellness Group, LLC dba Maui Grown Therapies; and Pono Life Sciences Maui, LLC. The one dispensary located on Kaua‘i is Green Aloha, Ltd. These dispensaries are now at different stages of development by the licensees, and at varying stages of the approval process.

DOH officials say the rigorous dispensary approval processes to open and begin selling medical cannabis are based on the requirements of Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Chapter 329D and Hawai‘i Administrative Rules Chapter 11-850. Dispensaries are required to comply with all state and county, health, safety, and sanitation regulations, and are subject to unannounced inspections by DOH.

More information on the Medical Cannabis Dispensary Program is available here.