Marijuana Moment: Hawaii Senators Push Congress To Federally Legalize Marijuana And Clear Past Convictions

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Hawaii senators have approved a pair of resolutions calling on Congress to federally legalize marijuana, support state efforts to clear people’s conviction records and take steps to facilitate access to banking services for companies in the cannabis industry.

“Even though states have made significant policy changes with respect to cannabis, the federal Controlled Substances Act still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I substance,” the measures advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a 5-0 vote on Thursday say, “which means that medical cannabis dispensaries and other cannabis-related businesses continue to face the prospect of federal seizures, forfeitures, arrests, and other enforcement and prosecution actions.”

The legal recreational cannabis industry could generate more than $1 billion in sales in Hawaii by its fifth year of operation, according to a recent state-commissioned study, the resolutions point out.

Current medical marijuana businesses in the state “are hampered by their inability to obtain the full spectrum of private banking services under federal law,” the measures sponsored by Sen. Joy San Buenaventura (D) say, adding that “arrests and convictions for cannabis possession remain on record and often impact the ability of a person to obtain housing and employment.”

SR58 and SCR64 call on Congress to:

(1) Remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act;

(2) Provide support to states that are in the process of clearing defendants’ records of cannabis offenses; and

(3) Facilitate access to the full spectrum of banking services for cannabis-related businesses.

The legislation as introduced noted that alcohol and tobacco don’t fall under the Controlled Substances Act, “even though the regular use of those substances often leads to physical injuries, psychological and social harm, the onset of chronic and fatal illnesses, and other negative impacts on individual and public health.”

But the panel removed that language, with Sen. Karl Rhoads (D), the chair of the committee, saying that the arguments about other substances “seem irrelevant” to the marijuana resolutions.

If passed by the legislature, the resolutions will be transmitted to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, as well as the top Democratic and Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate and each member of Hawaii’s congressional delegation.

Earlier this week, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee adopted separate resolutions calling on the state attorney general and health department to request an exemption from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) stipulating that Hawaii is permitted to run its medical cannabis program without federal interference.

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Although Hawaii senators recently approved a bill to legalize low-dose and low-potency marijuana, the legislation didn’t advance through required steps before a key deadline, and so it is dead for the year.

A separate marijuana legalization bill that contained provisions making the reform contingent on changes to federal law or the state Constitution, SB 2421, was deferred for action. Both Senate and House panels additionally deferred action on a measure to allow for the sale of certain hemp-derived cannabinoid products.

Those actions comes after key House lawmakers signaled that cannabis legalization proposals would not be advancing in the 2026 session, citing a lack of sufficient support in their chamber.

Last month, a Hawaii Senate committee separately passed legislation to allow patients to immediately access medical cannabis once their registrations are submitted, instead of having to wait until their cards are delivered as is the case under current law.

Meanwhile, a Hawaii House committee last week approved a Senate-passed bill that would create a psychedelics task force responsible for studying and making policy recommendations on providing access to breakthrough therapies such as psilocybin and MDMA.

Legislation to allow qualifying patients to access medical marijuana at health facilities is also advancing this session.

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