A Hawaii House lawmaker says a marijuana legalization bill that passed the Senate last week represents an “incredible compromise” that contains the key provisions needed to advance in her chamber.
At a virtual town hall event hosted by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) on Monday, Rep. Jeanne Kapela (D) talked about next steps for SB 669, which cleared the Senate with amendments ahead of a crossover deadline.
Kapela, who sponsored a separate legalization measure that did not advance in the House by that deadline, described the Senate-passed bill as a “really good starting point for us,” especially because the legislation was amended to incorporate social equity and expungements language that were central to her own proposal.
“It shows that we can all work together to come up with a bill that really meets the needs, I think, of medical patients, but it also protects small cannabis farms and, hopefully, the people that will potentially be able to join into a robust legalization system,” she said.
Kapela also encouraged supporters to contact their state representatives with “clear and concise” evidence-based messages expressing their desire to see the bill move.
That may prove critical given recent remarks by House Speaker Scott Saiki
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