Hawaii Medical Marijuana: Health Officials Await Spike In Patients

HONOLULU, HI — After two medical marijuana dispensaries recently opened for business in Hawaii, state health officials are preparing for an influx of patients signing up for the state's medical cannabis registry

More than 18,000 patients have joined the state's medical cannabis registry — about 38 percent of whom live on the Big Island. Twenty-nine percent live on Oahu, Hawaii News Now reported.

"We do see the beginning of a possible trend that shows more growth happening on Oahu," said Scottina Ruis, coordinator for the state's medical cannabis registry program. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

The state has managed to bring the turnaround time for applicants down to three to five business days.

"At the high end, when we got the program initially, the process was an entirely paper application process, so a lot different functions for staff," Ruis said. "I think high end of turnaround time was six to eight weeks."

There are four full-time employees and three more will be added by the end of the year.

"We've only got so many live bodies and we're doing our best to keep up with the demand and hopefully, we can stay ahead of that," Ruis said.

Photo credit: Marina Riker/Associated Press