Recreational pot bills clear committee hurdles

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Kelsey Walling/Tribune-Herald For the Hilo LGBTQ+ Pride Parade last June, employees with Big Island Grown, a Big Island cannabis dispensary, decorated a truck that included giant marijuana joint on the roof. Under a bill making its way through the Legislature, medical marijuana dispensaries would no longer be governed by the state Department of Health. Instead, they would be regulated by a proposed Hawaii Cannabis Authority.

Two bills that would legalize adult recreational use of marijuana cleared committee hurdles Thursday, with amendments.