Ige Veto Means Some Eligible Patients Still Can't Get Medical Cannabis Legally

For the 300-plus medical marijuana patients on Molokai and Lanai — islands without dispensaries — the Legislature’s passage of a bill allowing registered cardholders and caregivers to carry cannabis on interisland flights seemed to finally create a way for them to legally obtain their medicine and bring it home.

But Gov. David Ige vetoed House Bill 290, despite strong support in the Senate and House.

In his statement of objections, Ige said he feared the state would not be able to protect patients from prosecution because marijuana is still classified as an illegal substance federally and interisland flights travel over federal waters.

Advocates and dispensary workers say Ige’s decision not only perpetuates an inconvenience for all medical cannabis patients who travel interisland, it also leaves some with no feasible way to get their medicine legally. This may push them to break the law by buying on the black market or smuggling marijuana products home from neighbor island dispensaries.

Read more: https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/07/ige-veto-means-some-eligible-patients-still-cant-get-medical-cannabis-legally/