House Lawmakers Advance Hawaii Marijuana Legalization Bill

A bill to legalize recreational marijuana for adults in Hawaii was advanced by a key legislative committee in the state House of Representatives this week, marking another step in the bid to end the prohibition of cannabis on the Islands. The legislation, Senate Bill 3335, was approved by the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 7-3, according to a report from online news source Marijuana Moment.

Before advancing the measure, the committee added an amendment to the bill that requires cannabis businesses to have labor peace agreements with bona fide labor unions. If passed, the legislation would legalize recreational pot for adults and establish a regulated market for adult-use cannabis sales.

“I think that this bill is taking the best practices across the nation amongst other 24 states that have already passed a legalization bill to try to do something to address the issues that we currently face,” said Democratic state Rep. Cedric Gates, “whether it’s people selling CBD products or hemp-derived products in our communities with no regulation or going after individuals or entities selling to our youth.”

“I believe that this bill will provide funding as well as the personnel to really get a handle and have oversight, which we currently do not have in this free-for-all market with the legalization of cannabis,” said Gates, a member of the committee and the chair of the House Agriculture and Food Systems Committee, which approved the legislation last week.

The marijuana legalization bill, which is largely based on a cannabis legalization plan drafted by based on a legalization plan written by state Attorney General Anne Lopez, was introduced in the Hawaii legislature in January along with a House companion measure. The bill was passed by the Hawaii Senate on March 5 after stops in several legislative committees, where multiple amendments were made to the bill. With Tuesday’s approval in the Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee, the bill now heads to the House Finance Committee for consideration.

Hawaii Bill Legalizes Recreational Weed For Adults

If passed into law, the legislation would allow adults aged 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and up to five grams of cannabis concentrates. The measure, which would go into effect on January 1, 2026, would also permit the home cultivation of up to six cannabis plants by adults and allow for the possession of up to two pounds of harvested marijuana.

The marijuana legalization bill also expunges the records of past arrests and convictions for actions that are permitted or decriminalized under the measure, including cannabis possession charges. Petition-based expungements would begin on January 1, 2026, including petitions to review cannabis-related sentences.

The bill would also create a new state agency to regulate hemp, medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis named the Hawaii Hemp and Cannabis Authority. The agency would be tasked with licensing cannabis and hemp businesses and regulating the industry, with oversight from a five-member Cannabis Control Board also created by the bill.

The legislation was amended several times as it has wound its way through the Hawaii state legislature after receiving criticism from cannabis policy reform advocacy groups for several provisions seen as excessively punitive or restrictive. One amendment reduced the penalty for selling cannabis to a minor from a felony to a misdemeanor, while another would allow the caregivers of minor medical marijuana patients to administer non-smokable forms of cannabis in a vehicle or on school grounds.

Jaclyn Moore, Pharm.D., the co-founder and CEO of Hawaii-based vertically integrated cannabis company Big Island Grown, says that the pending legislation “is an incredible opportunity ahead of us.”

“For the first time in Hawaii’s history, there is alignment with the Governor’s administration, Senate, and the majority of House members on this issue,” Moore writes in an email. “Support from polls and testimony have laid out how beneficial this could be in terms of public safety, creating quality jobs for locals, and generating significant tax revenue for the state in a time of need.

“We are reaching a critical phase, and we are optimistic the bill can get through the final steps to passage,” Moore added. “Hawaii has historically been at the forefront of progressive issues like same-sex marriage, environmental issues, and renewable energy, so it is ironic that Hawaii is now the last Democratic state to legalize cannabis for adult use.”