July enforcement by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health emptied shelves of hemp-derived THC gummies, vapes and pre-rolls at shops that had sold them without medical marijuana cards.
Act 269 of 2025 and interim rules let DOH require retailer registration and inspections, closing a gap that had allowed federally legal hemp products with up to 0.3% delta-9 THC to proliferate.
Licensed dispensaries pushed for the crackdown after unlicensed Oʻahu sellers jumped from 10 in 2024 to 74 by early 2025, while DOH estimated $138 million to $300 million of a $198 million-$360 million market was going to the unregulated trade.
Oʻahu Dispensary owner Lance Alyas says 20 jobs are at risk and has asked a federal judge to block the policy, arguing Hawaiʻi improperly recriminalized hemp that Congress legalized.
The fight may be short-lived: a 2025 federal law signed by President Trump narrows hemp's definition and is set to close the THC loophole nationwide in December.