Hawaii Senate Committee Approves Bill To Expand Marijuana Law And Legalize It For All Senior Citizens

A Senate committee in Hawaii passed a bill to allow people 65 and older to automatically qualify for medical marijuana, regardless of their condition, reported Marijuana Moment.

The bill SB2718 would change the state’s existing medical marijuana law. Currently, only those with a debilitating medical condition can qualify for the program. The new bill would expand the scope of current law to include all seniors 65 and older.

The proposed Act acknowledges that medical cannabis has been demonstrated to positively help with often-recurring health issues, such as “insomnia, anxiety and stress”, “resulting in a better quality of life.” According to the lawmakers behind the bill, these problems have been “exacerbated by the pandemic, economic instability, and increasing uncertainty.”

The legislation passed the Senate Health Committee unanimously after the same committee approved a bill to set up a working group to study the therapeutic benefits of psilocybin mushrooms.

February brought good news for senior citizens who enjoy cannabis in the U.S. as well as for those who have not yet tried it.

On Tuesday, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser signed a bill into law that will expand access to the District’s medical marijuana program for people 65 and older. The bill establishes that applicants should be able to “self-certify that they will use cannabis for medical purposes in lieu of including a recommendation from their health care practitioner,” the administration said.

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash.