A pair of Hawaii House bills aimed at legalizing marijuana in the state are effectively dead for the 2026 session, key lawmakers say.
Despite renewed hopes that the proposals—including one from House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee Chairman David Tarnas (D) that would have put the issue of legalization before voters at the ballot—would advance this year, the sponsor and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura (D) say there isn’t enough support within the legislature to pass them this year.
“We’re the same members from last year,” Nakamura told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Friday, “and when we checked around, it didn’t sound like it would change anyone’s mind.”
“It’s just not a clear-cut ‘let’s do it,’” she said, adding that legislators “represent 1.4 million people” across the state, and “the constituencies are so different and they have to represent their constituencies.” The speaker said an informal head count of House lawmakers that leadership conducted last month revealed no clear signs that the general sentiment toward legalization had meaningfully changed.
“The feedback we were getting from members is that this doesn’t rise to the level of a constitutional amendment where we’re changing the way government operates,” Nakamura said. “This is more of an
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