Richard Ha, Medical Cannabis

We Will Be Producing & Dispensing Medical Cannabis

What a big day. This morning we all stood around our office waiting to learn if our group was one of two Big Island groups granted a medical cannabis dispensary license. We knew they were going to announce it at 11:30 this morning.

Our office isn’t in operation anymore, because we closed down the farm and so of course we aren’t taking any orders. But there we were in the office anyway, watching the press conference on Hawaii News Now on five or six iPhones, two or three iPads and a couple computers. That’s how we found out, same as everybody else.

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

Business Breaking  Top News

Hawaii announces 8 medical marijuana license winners

Star-Advertiser staff

April 29, 2016

Updated April 29, 2016 1:03pm

The state Department of Health announced the selection of applicants for eight medical marijuana dispensary licenses today. Prominent Big Island farmer Richard Ha was among the winning applicants, while actor Woody Harrelson was not.

The winning applicants and owners, according to the department, were:

Oahu:

>> Aloha Green Holdings Inc., Thomas Wong;

>> Manoa Botanicals LLC, Brian Goldstein;

>> TCG Retro Market 1 LLC, Tan Yan Chen;

Hawaii island:

>> Hawaiian Ethos LLC, Shelby Floyd;

>> Lau Ola LLC, Richard Ha;

Maui:

>> Maui Wellness Group LLC, Gregory Park;

>> Pono Life Sciences Maui LLC, William Mitchell Jr.;

Kauai:

>> Green Aloha Ltd., Justin Britt.

Dispensaries can open as soon as July 15.

A four-member panel reviewed nearly 66 applications to open dispensaries based on criteria including companies’ proof of financial stability, ability to comply with security requirements and being able to meet patient needs….

Read the rest

When they announced our group Lau Ola was awarded one of the licenses, it was like we were watching the Super Bowl and somebody scored a touchdown. I was elated, and then I thought, “Holy Smokes.” It’s a huge deal, and I am thinking about the big picture.

As I wrote on my Facebook page, the more I looked into the medical use of cannabis, the more I realized how vast the potential is for really helping people. Here in Hawaii, my inspiration was Jari Sugano and her daughter MJ, who’s six. MJ has an extremely rare disorder that causes children to have uncontrollable seizures. Medical cannabis is one of the only medications that helps her. Read their story here.

There’s also the potential for our UH Hilo School of Pharmacy to lead the way in medical cannabis research, and for our College of Ag to lead the way in production methods. I intend to have a conversation with them both to see how we can make this happen.

Thanks to everyone for all the support. It’s an honor for our company Lau Ola to have been awarded one of the two dispensary licenses on Hawai‘i Island, and it’s also a big responsibility. We will take this responsibility very seriously.

8 thoughts on “We Will Be Producing & Dispensing Medical Cannabis”

  1. I’m not a marijuana user (anymore) so I really don’t have a dog in this fight. But one thing that bothers me is the witch hunt. I’d like to see that end.

    There are plenty of dispensaries that are run by pro-marijuana users, and there are also dispensaries run by businessmen and businesswomen.

    I’m glad Hamakua Springs is the second camp. I feel it legitimizes the insanity of the witch hunt and the opportunity when it comes to pure business.

  2. Congratulations !I will keep this short i am a experienced Marijuana Dispensary Owner ,grow room builder , had 100s of patients 3 delivery services and I’m a Genrral Contractor I live here in Kona now if you need help with every aspect I’m looking for a new team opportunity here on the island . Also I have seeds I spent years to get . Im available anytime . This process you will be starting is fast paced . Please call me if interested 808-936-5021 please let me know soon as I am applying for engineering jobs here on the island now Mahalo

  3. Thank you Richard and family, for your part in ‘Keeping it Local’.
    So important to our way of life. What a great team.

  4. Congratulations Richard on the licence to transition your acreage from one crop to another! The scientific and therapeutic values of this plant have not been fully explored. I hope your business is part of building the ground-floor for advancing such avenues of research on the big island. Mahalo!

  5. Congratulations !
    but this sentence is a little uncomfortable to me: “the more I looked into the medical use of cannabis, the more I realized how vast the potential is for really helping people.”
    Just how much have you “Researched” MMJ ?
    And more importantly, how much do you know about growing MMJ ? How much have you grown in the past ?
    Are you familiar with Organic Marijuana Production Methods ?
    Will you be Using Pesticides, Fungicides on your “Medicine” ?
    How many Dollars/gram do you need to charge to make a Profit ?
    Surely, thanks to your vast “Research”, you have those answers readily available ?
    Thank you for your response to my questions.

  6. Much Aloha and Congratulations! I’m so happy to see that Hawaii is not allowing this industry to be just another “mainland outlet”. My sincere best wishes in your new endeavor as you bring healing, prosperity and peace to our island.
    May God smile on your work.

    Aloha,
    B. P.

  7. Mr. Ha, as a medical cannabis patient I would like to bring up a very important matter. I am requesting that you please use organic methods when growing the marijuana. I know that you haven’t been a proponent of organic farming in the past but this is medicine, not merely a banana. I and many other patients have autoimmune diseases and chemical sensitivities. Pesticides and herbicides would trigger a massive immune system flare and could possibly put me, and others like me, in the hospital which completely defeats the purpose of using a natural medication. It is EXTREMELY important to patients that nothing but organic nutrients be used in the cultivation and that even those nutrients are well rinsed from the plant prior to harvest. Because this is medicine it is very crucial to patients that it be free from any contaminants. Thank you for reading my comment and taking this into consideration.

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