Hawaii: vote in favor of legalizing cannabis

Hawaii lawmakers voted this week to advance two bills on the cannabis, one to legalize it and regulate its production and sale for adults aged 21 and over, and another to increase the quantities authorized under current decriminalization.

A separate proposal to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic purposes is due to be heard today.

Hawaii decriminalized possession of up to three grams of marijuana in 2019, replacing previous criminal penalties with a fine of 130$. This year's bill, SB 758, would raise the threshold for possession to one ounce, or about 28 grams.

A separate bill, the SB 767, would legalize cannabis and allow authorized businesses to grow, produce and sell cannabis products. It would also allow adults to grow up to three mature plants for personal use.

Both measures were approved Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental and Military Affairs. The decriminalization bill passed unanimously, 5-0, while the legalization bill received a No vote from the only Republican on the panel, Senator Kurt Fevella.

The legalization bill will now have to go through a joint hearing between the Senate Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees, after which it will go to the State House of Representatives. The decriminalization measure, meanwhile, will go to the Judiciary Committee. This committee is chaired by Democratic Senator Karl Rhoads, who led the Democratic caucus when it passed a legalization proposal in 2018, an initiative that went nowhere.