In 2000, Hawaii became the 8th state to legalize medical cannabis when Hawaiian governor Ben Cayetano signed into law Act 228, allowing medical cannabis cardholders to grow their own cannabis or appoint a caretaker to do so.

In 2015, the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Program of Hawaii was created to require those who qualify for medical cannabis to register before using cannabis for medical purposes.

To address legal acquisition of cannabis, in 2016 Senate Bill 321 established a dispensary system, allowing eight dispensaries in the state, designated by island. In August 2017, the first legal medical cannabis dispensary sale was made in Maui.

Dispensaries are allowed to sell varying medical cannabis products including flower, concentrates, tinctures, vape cartridges and lozenges. Edibles were passed by the Department of Health in early 2021 and the new rules went into effect on February 24, 2022, to expand medical cannabis dispensaries’ product offerings with the addition of popular edibles such as gummies and brownies.

The analysis, commissioned by the Hawaii Cannabis Industry Association, found that sales have slowed from an annual growth of 110% in 2019 to 68% in 2020 to only 12% in 2021.

State of Hawaii estimates of revenues were around $44 million in 2020 and around $50 million in 2021. The size of the cannabis market in Hawaii in 2021 was estimated at $240 million, 79% of which comes from illegal sales.

Hawaii medical cannabis sales were dominated by usable products, more than half (53.9%) during 2021. At the same time, vaping extracts (35.4%) also enjoyed substantive popularity. Various edibles (5.8%) were not unpopular.

As of November 2022, Hawaii’s medical cannabis program had 33,424 in-state and 1,126 out-of-state registered patients, according to government data. MJBiz Factbook 2022 forecasts medical cannabis sales in Hawaii to rise to $63 million this year and $74 million in 2023.

Hawaii Cannabis Market Infographics