Hawaii voters would be asked in November whether to pass a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults under a bill that state
Rep. David Tarnas plans to introduce this month.

Tarnas (D, Hawi-Waimea-­Waikoloa), chair of the state House Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, has long advocated for legal recreational marijuana use on behalf of his Hawaii island constituents and now wants to take the question directly to
voters across the state.

He’s pleased by the apparent softening in attitude among some legislators. During the 2024 legislative session, the full Senate took up Senate Bill 2487 that would “decriminalize” marijuana but ultimately voted it down.

In the months between the end of the 2025 legislative session in May and the start of the 2026 session, which begins Jan. 21, Tarnas has continued to research the challenges and experiences of mainland states that have legalized recreational marijuana.

“My intention behind this is to protect public safety, to protect consumer safety and to support public education campaigns so that adults will use cannabis responsibly,” Tarnas said.

But stiff opposition remains,
notably from the Honolulu Police Department and Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office.

Prosecutor Steve Alm told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that
“legalization of recreational marijuana would be bad for Hawaii, particularly for our keiki.”

Getting the votes to enshrine recreational marijuana use for adults in Hawaii’s constitution face a high bar.

The 76-member Legislature would have to vote by a two-thirds majority to put the question
before voters.

If the issue gets on the November ballot, it would then have to pass by a majority of all ballots cast. Unlike county charter amendments, all blank ballots count as “no” votes on state constitutional amendments, according to state elections law.

Supporters of legalization argue that a well-regulated, adult-use market would improve product safety, reduce criminalization
and create economic
opportunities.

Nikos Leverenz, board president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, continues to argue that legalization will benefit the state.

“It’s time for us to turn the page of five decades of failed drug war policies where cannabis is the centerpiece of that,” Leverenz said. “It’s really time for us to move toward regulation … to move toward consumer safety and to move toward education for all and treatment for those who need it.”

Older adults also could benefit from legal access to cannabis, possibly for pain management, as a safer alternative to opioids or alcohol, Leverenz said.

New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado have collected tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue since legalizing marijuana and Leverenz
believes Hawaii’s economy also could benefit through tax revenue and well-paying jobs.

Alm worries about the
societal impacts, especially in a “family-friendly” state that relies on tourism.

Alm said, “the marijuana of yesteryear that was 3 or 4% THC is nothing like the marijuana of now that’s 20, 30, or 40% in concentrates.”

All of the tourists and residents interviewed by the Star-Advertiser in Waikiki on Friday supported legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults.

Kelii Heunekeka‘eo, 45, of Kahaluu, had finished bodyboarding and said he supports legalization because marijuana use remains illegal while alcohol use
remains legal.

Heunekeka‘eo also believes that local farmers can benefit from being able to grow legal recreational
marijuana.

Echo Virden, a 46-year-old “homemaker” from Oregon, believes legalization also will help tourism. “A lot of people like to relax on vacation, and marijuana is a mellowing agent” she said.

Based on the experience of Oregon, where recreational marijuana is legal, Virden said it’s better for
Hawaii to generate taxes off of sales that can go to public use.

Starr Yoza, a 61-year-old dental hygienist from Kapahulu, agrees with Virden that there could be economic benefits for Hawaii.

Legalized recreational marijuana, she said, could be “a lucrative revenue for the state.”

Yoza would prefer legalized marijuana, as opposed to the current black market economy, after her “friend’s nephew died because it was tainted with fentanyl” she said.

Alm, Honolulu’s prosecutor, believes the question over whether to allow voters to determine the future of legalized recreational marijuana use remains clear for legislators.

“Legislators, like doctors, I think their first guiding principle should be ‘do no harm’ and a lot of people are going to get hurt by this,” Alm said. “And if the tax money we’re making are from the daily smokers, the addicts, then we’re really in the addiction-for-profit
business.”