With dispensaries set to open in Hawaii this July, famed actor and marijuana enthusiast Woody Harrelson has officially jumped on the legal marijuana bandwagon, announcing his bid among 60 + other candidates, for Hawaii's first licensed marijuana business.
Known mostly for his antics on screen with characters ranging from happy-go-lucky streetballer to more recent endeavors as seasoned survivor turned whisky sipping pawn for the now infamous
Hunger Games franchise, the 54 year old actor is taking the legal obstacles of the marijuana industry in stride, emphasizing a simplistic and organic approach for Hawaiian grade marijuana.
Although deemed legal since 2000, Hawaii's medical marijuana market had been all but defunct, limited to licensed cannabis caregivers and home cultivation techniques as means of acquiring medicine to those who would be lost without it. Riding a series of new
marijuana legalization bills passed last year however by Gov. David Ige, Hawaii's revived approach to marijuana will give way to new and more convenient ways of accessing medical grade cannabis to a retail market.
Hawaii's New System for Legal Marijuana Sales
As stated under HB 321, eight dispensaries will be allowed to operate in Hawaii, distributed throughout the the islands of Oahu(3), Big Island(2), Maui(2), and Kauai(1). Once fully licensed, dispensaries will be allowed two cultivation sites limited to 3,000 plants and a total of two distribution locations, separate from cultivation sites.
Hawaii's new system for marijuana sales doesn't just extend to its dispensaries but also its patients. Under SB 1291, medical marijuana patients will have fortified civil protections, preventing landlords, schools, and courts from discriminating against them, adding to peace of mind and well being that patients will have while exiting dispensary parameters.
Only the Fittest Will Obtain Marijuana Licensing
Among Woody Harrelson and other wealthy candidates seeking dispensary operation are 61 year old video game developer Henk Rogers, who became well known over 20 years ago for discovering the video game Tetris.
Besides having to dish out $1 million in cash before even touching an application for licensing as well as showing proof of Hawaiian residency of at least five years, candidates will also need at least $100,000 in the bank set aside for operations in each set dispensary location.
If selected, Harrelson’s application for Simple Organic Living won’t be the first nor certainly the last attempt of a celebrity putting their money where their pot is. Joining the ranks of other celebrity cannabis entrepreneurs such as Willie Nelson, Snoop Dogg, or even the late Bob Marley, who all have vested interests in the steadily growing cannabis industry, Harrelson serves as yet another example of how only the fittest will survive The Marijuana Dispensary Games.
