Fifth O‘ahu Cannabis Dispensary Approved

Aloha Green Apothecary passed its final onsite inspection today for a medical cannabis retail facility in Waikīkī.  This is the second location for the dispensary and the fifth licensed retail center on Oʻahu.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health approved the license for the new retail site located at 2113 Kalakaua Avenue, Unit 103, in Waikīkī.

There are now 12 licensed retail medical cannabis dispensary locations operating throughout the state: five on O‘ahu, one on Kaua‘i, two on Maui and four on Hawai‘i Island. Aloha Green opened O‘ahu’s first medical cannabis license retail center in August 2017.

“Aloha Green’s Waikīkī dispensary will help make cannabis for medical use more accessible to registered patients living in Hawai‘i as well as registered patients visiting the islands,” said Michele Nakata, supervisor of DOH’s Medical Cannabis Dispensary Licensing Program. “Since the start of our online visitor registration process, we have approved more than 1,000 out-of-state applications for patients traveling to Hawai‘i, and we anticipate this number to continue growing in the future.”

There are more than 26,700 patients and over 2,100 caregivers registered statewide. More than 40 percent of these patients and 50 percent of the caregivers reside on O‘ahu. As of July 31, 2019, there were approximately 11,414 registered patients and 1,086 caregivers on O‘ahu.

The primary qualifying medical condition reported for adult registered patients in Hawai‘i is severe pain. The primary reported condition for children under 18 years of age is seizures.

Since out-of-state patients could begin registering for temporary medical cannabis use in Hawai‘i in March 2019, there have been more than 1,000 applicants from 25 states and the District of Columbia approved, according to the state Department of Health.

Other licensed retail centers operating on O‘ahu include:

• Aloha Green, in the Interstate Building at 1314 South King St. in Honolulu, which received its notice to proceed on Aug. 9, 2017;
• Noa Botanicals, located at 1308 Young St. in Honolulu, which received its notice to proceed on Oct. 9, 2017;
• Cure Oahu, located at 727 Kapahulu Ave. in Honolulu, which received its notice to proceed on March 16, 2018;
• Noa Botanicals, located at 46-28 Kawa St. in Kāneʻohe, which received its notice to proceed on Feb. 14, 2019.

Although medical cannabis is legal, driving under the influence of cannabis is illegal. All use of medical cannabis must be on private property.

“Do not use cannabis in the car while on the road, at work, at school or on school grounds, at the beach, at a park, on hiking trails, on a bus, or in any other public space. Laws that do not allow smoking or vaping in certain areas apply to the use of medical cannabis,” according to the DOH.

The department also advises that when leaving home, medical cannabis must be in a sealed container and not visible to the public. “Patients are not protected when traveling with medical cannabis interisland, between states, or in other countries,” according to the DOH.