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.

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State Rep. Cynthia Thielen has been a champion for cannabis, though not the kind that gets you high.

Industrial hemp, Thielen said, yields thousands of uses and products, so it frustrates her to see them laughed off by those who confuse this varietal of the cannabis plant with what's known as marijuana.

"Its uses range from termite proof and fire retardant hempcrete for building, nutritional hempseed products, animal feed, rope, paper, cloth," she said in an email response to a Star-Advertiser inquiry.

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A bill that would ban homegrown marijuana in Hawaii is riling pot advocates as the state prepares for the opening of medical cannabis dispensaries this year.

House Bill 1680, proposed by Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D-Wahiawa, Whitmore Village), would prohibit patients from growing their own pot in 2017, essentially forcing them to buy their marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries.

"The discussion always has been to find a reliable, safe source of medical marijuana for Hawaii's patients," Oshiro said. "Those means would be through a well-regulated seed-to-sale tracking system to ensure that only the bona fide patients under doctors' care and with a valid certificate are able to obtain medical marijuana at the retail dispensaries.

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Hemp production could save agriculture in Hawaii. The recent reporting on the University of Hawaii's study about growing hemp here is extremely hopeful. The preliminary results of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resource's experimental study on its farmland in Waimanalo point toward excellent possibilities.

The timing of agricultural land becoming available on Maui and the announcement that Alexander & Baldwin (A&B), through its agricultural subsidiary Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. (HC&S), is considering hemp as a viable crop indicates how views have changed since industrial hemp was erroneously classified as a drug over 50 years ago.

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As a Colorado citizen who helped re-legalize cannabis, Jeffrey K. Coakley's misinformed letter (Real motivation for marijuana isn't medicine, Jan. 14,), demands much correction.

Ohio "voted no" regarding cannabis (marijuana) because their specific initiative was flawed and even cannabis activist opposed it and will likely pass it next time. When cannabis is re-legalized, there is not an increase in social services but rather a reduction; it's one reason law enforcement agencies and their unions consistently oppose ending cannabis prohibition and it's one of the reasons voters want to end cannabis prohibition.

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Oh, how to respond to Mr. Coakley and his North Hawaii Community Associations letter to the editor on Jan. 13?

More 1950s reefer madness propaganda with unnamed certified studies and doom predictions if sick patients no longer have to grow their own pot and can purchase their legal medicine in a safe and secure location. Mainland pot interests intent on subverting our youth by subsidizing the dispensaries even though the DOH has not even selected who they will be.

Hide the women and children "they" are coming for them! All this baloney despite recent Pew studies that show 65 percent support for legalization among millennials. Just who is out of touch, me, or Mr. Coakley? Representatives of the people passed this dispensary law. Is Mr. Coakley a supporter of law, or only the laws he likes? I have no doubt that in the future marijuana will be legal everywhere. Women's rights, same-sex marriage, transgender rights, gays in the military, society changes and moves forward. Thank God!

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J. Appleton's attempt to discredit me and North Kohala Community Association is based on his lack of knowledge on the marijuana issue and his ignorance on the pulse of our community.

We are asking why the two dispensary licenses for this island and eight throughout the state?

We have less than 14,000 medical marijuana cardholders in Hawaii, 5,550 on the Big Isle. Each patient can have seven plants. If they can't grow their own, others can grow the plants for them. Of the 5,500, only 12 Big Isle patients cannot grow their own. So to "assist" these 12 people, four Big Isle reps helped introduce the bill: Cindy Evans, Mark Nakashima, Richard Creagan and Joy San Buenaventura.

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Legalizing marijuana for agriculture is a pipe dream ("Like it or not, legalizing pot could be boon for local ag," Star-Advertiser, David Shapiro, Jan. 10).

Alcohol and tobacco are not profitable in Hawaii because of the out-of-state competition, egregious state regulations, taxes, land, labor, production and transportation costs.

Marketing labels like Puna Butter, Kona Gold or Maui Wowie would not create cannabis agriculture. Just like Hawaiian sweet bread, marijuana would not be exported; it would be produced outside of Hawaii.

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Commercial cannabis (marijuana) in Colorado currently is grown indoors ("Like it or not, legalizing pot could be boon for local ag," Star-Advertiser, David Shapiro, Jan. 10).

However, it's reasonable to expect federal laws prohibiting cannabis to collapse in the future, and that will give Hawaii an advantage with its ideal climate.

Another thing that doesn't get mentioned is tourism. Millions of citizens across America are sick and tired of being persecuted, discriminated against and caged for using the relatively safe, extremely popular God-given plant.

Colorado has seen tourism increase substantially since ending cannabis prohibition. The sooner Hawaii re-legalizes the plant, the sooner its tourism likely will increase also.

Further, millions of citizens remember "Maui Wowie" and can hardly wait to smoke it legally.

Stan White Dillon, Colo.

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The state Department of Health opened an 18-day bidding window today for companies interested in competing for medical marijuana dispensary licenses.

This year Hawaii is joining at least 18 other states in legalizing the commercial production and distribution of medical marijuana. Under Act 241, 16 medical marijuana dispensaries will be licensed to open starting July 15.

Several experienced Hawaii businessmen have said they plan to apply for licenses.

Companies will need to dish out $5,000 just to apply and pay a $75,000 license fee if their application is selected. To make a bid, a company must show that it has at least $1 million worth of financial resources for each license, as well as $100,000 for each retail outlet. There is a $50,000 annual license renewal fee and an estimated $2 million to $5 million a year in overhead costs.

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It's been a sad week for agriculture in Hawaii - and not only because Alexander & Baldwin Inc. announced that it's closing Hawaii's last sugar plantation, the company's 36,000acre farm on Maui.

The same day, longtime Hawaii island farmer Richard Ha told employees he's shutting down his Hamakua Springs Country Farms, at least for the growing of crops that people eat.

Ha stopped growing his tomatoes last year and now will no longer produce his mainstay bananas after the current crop goes to market.

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Cocaine use in the workplace doubled in the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period while marijuana still remained the drug of choice.

Among employees and job applicants tested for drugs, 0.4 percent tested positive for cocaine during the final three months of the year, according to a report Tuesday by Honolulu-based Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc. That's up from 0.3 percent in the third quarter and double the 0.2 percent who tested positive for the drug in the fourth quarter of 2014.

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In the "hurry up and wait" mode that defines Hawaii's lawmaking process, new rules launching the state's medical marijuana industry have been rushed, less than a year after a law finally sanctioned dispensaries, and 15 years after Hawaii approved medical marijuana use but without legal means of buying the drug.

The harried nature of the rulemaking, coupled with lawmakers' criticisms of the crucial ground rules, are unsettling - so much so that it behooves officials to pause the timetable to do this properly.

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Regarding medical marijuana distribution, I think all parties have it wrong.

Hawaii County Councilwoman Margaret Wille is opposed to Oahu-based rules, rightly so, calling for county control and addressing certain areas where a "drug problem exists."

She's right. A drug problem exists, due to the illegality of marijuana itself, creating black markets and so-called "crimes."

My solution is simple: no regulation at all. Legalization of medical marijuana was enacted to help the needy, not to line the pockets of the greedy.

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The State Department of Health Is Criticized for Its New Regulations on Medical Marijuana

Hawaii lawmakers criticized top Department of Health officials on Monday over new rules governing the growth and sale of medical marijuana, saying that health officials may have overstepped their statutory authority by prohibiting the use of greenhouses and excluding official retail outlets from selling rolled marijuana cigarettes and certain smoking paraphernalia.

"I get very frustrated when executive departments establish rules that go beyond what the Legislature opined," Sen. Roz Baker (D, West Maui-South Maui) told health officials who testified in front of a joint hearing of the House Health Committee and Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health Committee. "The Legislature makes policy and the executive branch implements that policy. So I would like you ... to look at those rules and in areas where they go beyond what the statute says specifically, take them down. They don't belong there."

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Twenty-three states plus the District of Columbia have legalized medical cannabis, and more are coming on board each year.

The belief that cannabis has no medicinal efficacy has been disproven in privately funded studies.

More clinical trials are critically needed. Yet, those studies cannot be performed as long as the Drug Enforcement Administration classifies cannabis as a Schedule I drug, which places it as having no medical use. This needs to change, and soon.

Congress is not moving fast enough, but there is another route: rescheduling cannabis as a Schedule II drug by executive order.

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Four Hawaii doctors earlier this month filed a petition with the state to put pressure on the federal government to change the classification of medical marijuana.

Marijuana is classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a "Schedule I controlled substance," the most dangerous category of controlled substances, which includes heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and Ecstasy.

Dr. Clifton Otto of Honolulu and three other Hawaii doctors asked state Attorney General Douglas Chin to push for removing marijuana from the Schedule I list.

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Enclosed-Growing Rule Could Cost Kauai Dispensary Investors Millions

A definition in the interim administrative rules for medical marijuana dispensaries posted this month could cost Kauai dispensary investors millions of dollars in utility and construction costs.

According to the interim rules, medically-grown marijuana shall be grown "in an enclosed indoor facility," as required by HB 321, the state law creating the dispensary program. An enclosed indoor facility rules out greenhouses, which proponents say could cut utility costs by half.

The structure would need a concrete floor and rigid steel sides that encloses the facility with all entry points secured, according the Department of Health. Additionally, the interior of the structure may not be visible from the outside.

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A Nonprofit Group Has Ranked Hawaii No. 6 for the State's Rate of Fatal Substance Use

We don't have nearly the extreme kind of heroin epidemic that you see on the mainland. ... What we most commonly see kids overdose with in Hawaii is still alcohol poisoning." Colleen Fox Director of adolescent programs, Hina Mauka

Hawaii has the sixth-lowest rate among the states of youth dying from drug overdoses, but the figure is trending upward across the country, according to a new report from the Trust for America's Health.

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Medical marijuana patients will not be allowed to sample their medicines before they buy when dispensaries open next year.

The state Health Department issued interim administrative rules Tuesday for the medical marijuana dispensary licensing program that require cannabis operators to grow their plants indoors and at least 750 feet away from schools and playgrounds. It also doesn't allow retail operators to hand out free samples or sell paraphernalia. The dispensaries will be highly regulated with unlimited unannounced inspections, the department said.

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