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Hawaii Decriminalizes Marijuana But Stops Short Of Legalization

Updated August 16, 2021

Unfortunately, it's not unusual for some places to end up with a reputation that's either out of date or just inaccurate to begin with.

For instance, it's entirely possible to hear a lot of nasty stories about unfriendly New Yorkers only to go there yourself and receive a pretty warm welcome. At least, that was my experience with the city.

By the same token, a place that's picked up a reputation for being "chill" over the years can end up the subject of assumptions that don't really reflect the reality of the land.

For instance, Hawaii may very well have a chill local culture, but one recent devlopment confirms that this doesn't necessarily mean that visitors can do whatever they want.

This may surprise some with just a passing familiarity with the Aloha State, but it is not legal to smoke marijuana recreationally there.

Reddit | kmbrshaw

Although medical marijuana was legalized in 2000, the LA Times reported reported that it was only in this year that anyone but native Hawaiians were included in this program.

Last month, however, a further step was taken to bring Hawaii's laws more in line with changing national attitudes towards the drug.

Reddit | qonkytonky

According to ABC News, Hawaii officially became the 26th state to decriminalize marijuana on July 9 and this change in law is expected to take effect in January.

Until this change takes effect, those caught with small amounts of marijuana potentially face up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

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However, this misdemeanor charge will be downgraded to a simpler citation where possessing three ounces or less of weed will carry a $130 fine come January.

However, even this change in law wasn't exactly to Hawaii Governor David Ige's liking.

Wikimedia Commons | Dallas Nagata White

As ABC News reported, he didn't sign the legislation, but simply took no action to veto it in the time frame available.

One of his issues was that the bill didn't have a provision supporting young people seeking substance abuse programs.

Ige also made it clear that this legislation was in no way a precursor to the kind of legalization seen in other states and in Canada.

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Although several bills were introduced in Hawaii's legislature to legalize recreational marijuana, all of them were voted down.

Ige said that he wanted to see what could be learned from states that have enacted legalization so Hawaii can do so in "a much better controlled fashion."

Reddit | yaboynatan

As he said, "We continue to learn from other states about the problems they see with recreational marijuana, and most of the governors that I talk to that have recreational laws have acknowledged significant problems with those measures."

He did not appear to elaborate on what these problems are.

Ige has also taken the action to veto two other cannabis-related bills.

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One would have made it legal to transport medical marijuana across different islands and the other would have enacted an industrial hemp licensing program.

According to Hawaii Public Radio, Ige's reason for blocking the hemp bill involved a desire to wait until Hawaii's hemp laws can be aligned with upcoming USDA policies.

h/t: ABC News

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