Hawai’i’s Cannabis Reform Stalls in 2025
🌴 Hawai’i remains an outlier in cannabis policy, lagging behind the entire West Coast and failing to meet the expectations of its voters. Despite growing public support, legalization and decriminalization bills failed to pass in 2024 and 2025.
Missed Opportunities for Legalization
- 🛑 2024: Senate-passed legalization bill died in House Finance Committee.
- 🛑 2025: HB 1426 & SB 1613 (legalization bills) stalled in committees.
- 💡 What this means: Hawai’i voters overwhelmingly support cannabis reform, yet lawmakers refuse to act.
📢 Take Action: Let your legislators know it’s time to end the failed war on cannabis!
2024 Legislative Recap
✅ Expungement Progress
- HB 1595: Creates a pilot expungement program in Hawaii County for non-conviction cannabis arrests.
- SB 2706: Establishes a Clean Slate Task Force to explore broader expungement efforts.
🚫 Failed Decriminalization Expansion
- SB 2487 would have expanded decriminalization to 15 grams (Senate version) or one ounce (House version).
- ❌ Instead, Hawai’i remains the most restrictive decriminalization state, with jail time still possible for possessing more than three grams (less than ⅛ of an ounce).
Hawai’i’s Medical Cannabis Program
🏥 Established in 2000, Hawai’i was the first state to legalize medical cannabis through the legislature. Since then:
- More qualifying conditions have been added.
- Out-of-state patients are protected.
- Dispensaries are allowed.
🚨 However, medical cannabis patients in Hawai’i can still be fired for testing positive for THC.
Hawai’i’s Outdated “Decriminalization” Law
📝 2019 Law: Possessing up to three grams results in a $130 civil fine, but still carries harsh penalties beyond that.
- Hawai’i has the smallest decriminalization threshold in the U.S.
- The fine is among the highest in the country.
🗳️ Public Support for Legalization
- 🌊 A 2023/2024 poll found 58% of Hawai’i voters support legalization.
- The entire West Coast has legalized cannabis, yet Hawai’i remains stuck in the past.
Stay Connected
📢 Join the fight for cannabis justice in Hawai’i! Subscribe to MPP alerts and follow the Hawai’i Alliance for Cannabis Reform on Instagram and Twitter.