The Department of Health in Hawaii says that in order to buy medical marijuana in Hawaii, proper paperwork is in order.
This may be why some Californians are facing problems when trying to buy the drug on the island.
“California seems to be the one state that we are seeing a lot of problems with,” said Tami Whitney, the coordinator of the Medical Cannabis Registry Program for the Hawaii Department of Health.
Hawaii has allowed visitors to buy medical cannabis since March 5 but only if they comply with state regulations.
So far over three-quarters of California applicants have not received their temporary medical cannabis cards from the Hawaii Department of Health. Of the 252 applications received by July 1, 45 were rejected and 149 others are pending.
One reason for this is that applicants are not providing their California medical marijuana card, which they must scan and submit, along with their state photo ID.
“A lot of them are only submitting … their physicians’ certifications,” Whitney said.
Whitney urges visitors to comply with Hawaii law so “they can be symptom-free or pain-free while they’re on vacation.”
“We’re trying to let California patients know [what the law is] because what we don’t want is for them to have to skip a dose or get here thinking that their [doctors’] letters will be good enough and then being stuck,” said Pedro Haro, the organization’s executive director.