Proposed legislation threatens to undo years of lobbying to foster Hawaii’s local hemp industry, according to farmers who just last year celebrated the repeal of regulations that had been stymying progress.
Hemp is lumped into a 361-page bill to legalize recreational cannabis that was drafted by the Attorney General’s Office and released on Friday.
The final draft calls for the creation of the Hawaii Cannabis Authority and cannabis control board to be created under the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which would create rules for and then regulate medical and recreational cannabis, as well as hemp.
That authority would also have the power to amend or repeal current laws, which hemp growers think will negate the work the industry has done to remove unnecessary regulation.
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