Hawaii Senate voted Tuesday in favor (22-3) of SB 669, a cannabis legalization bill sponsored by state senate Democrats Stanley Chang, Jarrett Keohokalole, Angus McKelvey and Joy San Buenaventura. The legislation will now proceed to the House for consideration and possible amendments.
“For years, advocates have been working to pass legislation to sensibly legalize cannabis in Hawaii. Now that this bill has advanced out of the Senate, Hawaii is one step closer to becoming the next state to end cannabis prohibition,” said Hawaii resident DeVaughn Ward, senior legislative counsel at the Marijuana Policy Project.
The Senate’s approval of the bill comes about a month after the Hawaii Cannabis Industry Association (HICIA) revealed that the vast majority of Hawaiians back cannabis legalization. According to poll results published on March 31, as many as 86% of Hawaiians think that marijuana should be legal.
Recreational cannabis reform had even more support: 45% while medical use-only garnered 41%.
If …