Pubdate: Sat, 06 Feb 2016
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2016 Star Advertiser
Contact: 
http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154
Author: Kristen Consillio
Page: A1

POT O' GOLD

Celebrities, politicians and attorneys vie to get in on the ground 
floor of an industry forecast to be worth millions

Actor Woody Harrelson, Hollywood producer Shep Gordon and dozens of 
high-profile attorneys, entrepreneurs and politicians are jumping on 
the opportunity to sell pot in Hawaii. The state Health Department 
released Friday a list of 66 applicants for eight dispensary licenses 
that will allow for the opening of Hawaii's first medical marijuana 
retail centers as early as July 15.

The list includes local doctors; video game entrepreneur Henk Rogers; 
Hawaii island farmer Richard Ha; "Hawaii Stars" television producer 
Dirk Fukushima; Michael Irish, owner of kim chee maker Halm's 
Enterprises and Keoki's Lau Lau; former St. Francis Healthcare 
Systems executive Eugene Tiwanak; former city Budget Director and 
Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit Chairman Ivan Lui-Kwan; Kimberly 
Dey, CEO of production companies Liquid Planet Studios and 
Number-Eight; and Charles Kawakami, former president of Big Save 
supermarkets on Kauai.

Politicians and the politically connected are also vying for licenses.

Sen. J. Kalani English (D, Hana-East Maui-Upcountry Maui), a strong 
supporter of dispensaries and marijuana legalization, is part of 
Hawaii Medicinal Options LLC; Peter Carlisle, former Honolulu mayor 
and longtime city prosecutor, and David Louie, former state attorney 
general, are both representing groups in the running, as are Hawaii 
lobbyist John Radcliffe and attorney Lex Smith, former campaign 
manager for Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.

Other well-known businessmen in the mix include insurance executive 
Colbert Matsumoto and Duane Kurisu, founder and chairman of aio, 
which operates media, technology and food outlets. Both are board 
members of Oahu Publications Inc., parent company of the Honolulu 
Star-Advertiser.

"This is a fledgling industry in its infancy, and we only expect it 
to grow in terms of medical cannabis. These individuals are trying to 
get on the ground floor," said Sen. Will Espero (D, Ewa Beach-Ocean 
Pointe). "It will be profitable, no doubt. Just looking at the 
numbers and looking at the potential on my own, we're talking 
definitively a multimillion-dollar industry split between eight 
applicants. Certainly these successful business people and others 
wouldn't be looking at this if they felt they weren't going to get a 
return on their investment."

Estimated startup costs to open a local dispensary have ranged from 
$2 million to $12 million. However, the return on investment on what 
has become a booming industry on the mainland could be significant.

Medical marijuana advocates estimate Hawaii dispensaries could create 
as many as 800 jobs and generate $65 million a year in sales. 
Nationally, legal marijuana sales jumped to $5.4 billion in 2015 from 
$4.6 billion in 2014, according to the ArcView Group, a 
California-based marijuana research firm. The group forecasts U.S. 
sales to grow 25 percent to $6.7 billion this year.

With all the big-name applicants, the concern is that the selection 
process be fair, said Sen. Josh Green (D, Naalehu-Kailua-Kona). The 
Health Department has not disclosed who is on the selection committee.

"It's going to be critical that no favoritism is shown and that they 
only ultimately give licenses to the most qualified applicants in 
order for people to have faith and trust in this process," Green 
said. "It's incumbent that this process is 100 percent transparent. 
Every citizen should have an equal opportunity."

Hawaii legalized medical cannabis in 2000 but did not provide a legal 
way for patients to obtain the drug. Once dispensaries are open, 
state health officials project the number of certified patients to 
jump to 26,000 from about 13,000.

Act 241, adopted last year, authorizes the state Department of Health 
to issue eight dispensary licenses this year: three on Oahu, two each 
on Hawaii island and Maui, and one on Kauai. Each licensee will be 
allowed to operate two production centers with up to 3,000 marijuana 
plants each and two retail centers for a total of 16 dispensaries statewide.

The names of individual applicants and entities is posted online at 
health.hawaii.gov/medicalmarijuana. The state expects to select 
licensees by April 15.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom