Hawaii senators are sending a message to the governor, state attorney general and health department to recognize their “clear legislative stance” in support of requesting an exemption from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stipulating that Hawaii is permitted to run its medical cannabis program without federal interference.
Members of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Monday approved a pair of resolutions that address the state-federal cannabis policy disconnect, with a push to have state officials exercise their authority to request a DEA exemption under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) with respect to its medical marijuana law.
The “legal disharmony” resulting from the underlying policy conflict has “created a layered legal and economic gray area, in which patients and dispensaries must violate federal law to participate, with prosecution protection entirely dependent upon the non-enforcement of federal law,” the companion Senate resolution and Senate concurrent resolution say.
This is not the first time that the legislature has advanced such resolutions—and the language of the latest versions reflects a sense of frustration that the Department of Health (DOH) failed to follow through on lawmakers’ 2021 directive to request the cannabis exemption. The governor and state attorney general also have the power
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