In Hawaii, cannabis is both legal and illegal, with some of the industry regulated by the state for medicinal use but the vast majority left to an underground network.
This network, which is not taxed or regulated, flourishes in the Hawaiian Islands. A 2022 report from the state Department of Taxation estimates the total market in the Islands for cannabis is $240 million a year. Only 21% is fully legal.
The report estimates that more than three-quarters of the state’s cannabis industry is grown and sold in a “gray market.” This realm “is distinguished from a black market due to its higher levels of social acceptance and ambiguous legal treatment. In a black market, the possession and sale of a product is clearly illegal, and legal enforcement is strong. In a gray market, the legal classification is more ambiguous, and enforcement measures are not consistently applied.”
Like many residents, I see the gray market in my day-to-day life: A few months ago, I spied an advertisement for cannabis seeds casually sitting on the counter of a coffee shop in Pāhoa on Hawaiʻi island.
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