HI SR84

Requests the Department of Health to amend Chapter 160 of Hawaii Administrative Rules to allow physicians to certify patients for low-THC medical marijuana for conditions beyond the current approved list of debilitating medical conditions.

Current process requires petitions and public administrative hearings (held as infrequently as once per year) to add new conditions to the approved list, with only one addition (post-traumatic stress disorder in 2015) since the program's inception in 2000.

Allows physician discretion in certifying low-THC medical marijuana use, which would expand patient access to medicine while reducing abuse potential compared to higher-THC products.

Cites California's medical marijuana law as a model, which allows physicians to recommend marijuana for various conditions including cancer, AIDS, chronic pain, arthritis, migraine, and other illnesses where marijuana provides relief.

Directs the Department of Health to receive certified copies of this resolution for consideration of the proposed administrative rules amendment.