#house speaker joseph souki

Under the new law, eight dispensary licenses will be permitted in the state, including two in Maui County. There are an estimated 13,000 qualified patients throughout the state who are listed as medical marijuana card holders.

Governor Ige has informed the legislature of his intent to veto a list of eight bills. Noticeably absent from the list was the controversial marijuana dispensaries bill, which the governor continues to review. “There are concerns in terms of the implementation. The implementation schedule is very aggressive. We’ll be working very hard to meet those deadlines, but resources made available to the department as well as the aggressive schedule will be a challenge. So, I’m committed to implementing the law in the best way that we can,” said Gov. Ige.

A bill that creates a statewide distribution system for medical marijuana passed out of the state House on the last day of session.

Speaker Souki thanked House members for thinking “outside the box” in resolving Maui hospital’s financial crisis.