Today the Hawai‘i Dispensary Alliance is pleased to release the February 2016 edition of the HDA Industry Newsletter. This members-only resource is the premier industry publication written exclusively for Hawai‘i’s medical marijuana industry. This edition features articles concerning the upcoming legislative session, how you can be involved, and information on background checks, addiction studies, and dispensary-community relations.
In our largest newsletter to date, we have several articles outlining every bill in the State House and Senate concerning the cannabis and hemp industries. We also include explanations for the bills submitted by your Alliance on behalf of the industry to help tweak some of DoH’s administrative rules. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months about how you can participate as an Alliance member in Committee Hearings and by submitting testimony in favor of improvements to Hawaii’s medical marijuana regime.
For those interested in contributing to the public debate and letting their voice be heard, this issue also features an article detailing exactly how patients, individuals, and interested businesses can submit testimony to the Legislature concerning any of these issues. The issue also includes a calendar of legislative deadlines over the next couple of months for everyone to take note of as you prepare to engage the Legislature this session.
This issue also includes two interesting articles addressing recent concerns arising across the industry here in Hawaii – addiction rates and dispensary background checks. The addiction rate article is intended to provide useful information to combat recent anti-marijuana events accusing the industry of becoming the next big tobacco – this is patently false, especially in relation to the medicinal uses of marijuana, and we have the data to prove it. The second article discusses an issue of importance to patients and dispensaries alike – the background check requirements of the Department of Health’s interim rules. The article details what is required in each background check, who must is subject to a background check, and the unprecedented requirement that patients must pass a background check before entering a dispensary.
This February issue of the Industry Update continues our discussion of real estate issues and the medical marijuana industry with an article addressing the relationship between dispensaries and local communities. Dispensaries, patients, and interested individuals and businesses should all engage the local community to promote safety fro all and to preempt any adverse reaction by their neighbors. Information and personal relationships are an important tool for the industry in forging new alliances and friends across the state.
Finally. this issue of the Industry Update includes an informative interview with George Hobart, a successful medical marijuana dispensary owner out of Washington. In the interview he discusses a number of issues of interest to future dispensary owners, managers, and employees including pesticide testing, marketing, and store security.
It is the Alliance’s mission to provide up-to-date and relevant industry information to the patients, dispensary applicants, and related businesses of Hawai‘i’s growing medicinal cannabis industry. Not yet a member of the Alliance, but interested in reading what these articles have to offer? Call us today for a free trail copy of the newsletter. You can also join the Alliance to receive the HDA Industry Update every month and to take an active role in the future of Hawai‘i’s medical marijuana industry. Find us on Facebook or Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you!