Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation

If you are planning on acquiring medical cannabis from a dispensary, you must have 1) your valid 329 card, and 2) valid state ID, valid state driver’s license, or valid passport on your person to gain entry.

The Hawaii Department of Health is responsible for administering two distinct but related medical cannabis programs.

Medical Cannabis Patient Registry Program
Medical Cannabis Dispensary Program
Hemp Program

Both are designed to ensure medical cannabis is accessible for Hawaii’s patients, while making patient safety and public safety its ultimate priorities.

Please click on the Blue Buttons below for more information about each program.

Medical Cannabis

Patient Registry Program

Hawaii law requires all qualified patients to be registered with the Medical Cannabis Patient Registry Program before they begin to use cannabis for medicinal purposes. The registration process begins when:

A license Physician or Advanced practice registered nurse certifies the health condition can benefit from medical cannabis
Patient creates and registers with the DOH medmj.ehawaii.gov account
DOH reviews, approves and issues a 329 Registration Card

DOH’s goal is to issue the patient’s 329 Registration Card in a timely manner so that patients can begin or continue to legally use medical cannabis.

DOH is required to provide law enforcement officials with limited access to the Medical Cannabis Registry Program’s database as a tool to safeguard the community against illegal cannabis use and/or illegal cannabis grow sites.

Medical Cannabis

Dispensary Program

The Hawaii Department of Health’s Dispensary Licensing program monitor’s the quality of the cannabis products from seed to sale. This includes statewide oversight of the laboratories that test the safety and quality of the cannabis and manufactured cannabis products, and monitoring of the dispensaries who will grow, manufacture, and sell the products to qualified patients.

Act 241 was signed into law in July 2015 and became Chapter 329D, HRS. The Hawaii Department of Health will begin administering the Medical Cannabis Dispensary Program in 2016 and dispensaries may begin to dispense medical cannabis and manufactured medical cannabis products as early as July 2016 with departmental approval.

Medical cannabis has been legal in Hawaii since 2000, but access to medical cannabis remained a challenge. Patients and caregivers could legally grow their own cannabis plants within certain parameters. Advocates of medical cannabis have hailed the dispensary program as a major breakthrough. The goal of the dispensary licensure program is to make medicinal products readily available for registered patients while balancing the health and safety of patients and the public.

Dispensary Applicants, be sure to regularly check Dispensary Updates (on the left side of this page) for information on dispensary licensing requirements, frequently asked questions (FAQ), and other valuable updates.

In an effort to consolidate oversight of access to cannabis and hemp derived products by patients and consumers of Hawaii, the Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation (OMCCR) has been tasked by the Department of Health to regulate the hemp processing industry for the State of Hawaii.
Act 263, was enacted in July 2023 and amended the states Hemp Processor law (Chapter 328G, Hawaii Revised Statute). OMCCR is working to amend interim rules (Chapter 11-37, Hawaii Administrative Rules), to reflect the changes brought by Act 263. These interim rules will be forthcoming.