For both sides
Buying or selling a cannabis business in Honolulu, Hawaii
Federal and state law current as of September 2026 — verify with counsel.
Honolulu has three of Hawaii's eight medical cannabis dispensary licences, held by Aloha Green Apothecary, Cure Oahu and Noa Botanicals. There is no city cannabis licence: the state Department of Health licenses and must approve any transfer in writing. The city's role is zoning and building permits through the Department of Planning and Permitting, and Oahu adds a 0.5 percent general excise tax surcharge.
Key takeaways
- Hawaii rule 11-850-5 allocates three of the eight statewide dispensary licences to the City and County of Honolulu.
- Honolulu licensees run multiple retail sites each: the state registry lists roughly a dozen Oahu dispensing locations across three licensees.
- Oahu buyers pay 4.5 percent general excise tax, the 4 percent state rate plus a 0.5 percent county surcharge running from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2030.
- The city issues no cannabis licence and runs no cannabis equity programme; the Department of Planning and Permitting controls the site through zoning and permits.
- A Honolulu licence sale needs prior written Department of Health approval under Haw. Code R. 11-850-8, and no person may hold more than one dispensary licence.
Who licenses cannabis in Honolulu?
The state, not the city. Every cannabis licence on Oahu is issued by the Department of Health’s Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation under HRS chapter 329D. Honolulu has no cannabis business licence, no local cap of its own, and no local application process. The full state framework is on the Hawaii state page.
What the City and County of Honolulu controls is the site. The Department of Planning and Permitting administers the Land Use Ordinance in chapter 21 of the Revised Ordinances, which determines whether a use is permitted in a zoning district or needs a conditional use permit, plus the building, electrical and sign permits behind any fit-out. Buying an operating Honolulu dispensary means buying its zoning position too, so the permit file belongs in diligence alongside the licence. The general framework is in local control and municipal approvals.
How many licences and locations are there?
Three licences, about a dozen storefronts. Rule 11-850-5 allocates three of the eight statewide dispensary licences to Honolulu. The holders are Aloha Green Apothecary, Cure Oahu and Noa Botanicals, and the state registry’s Oahu dispensary list shows each running several retail sites:
| Licensee | Oahu retail locations listed |
|---|---|
| Aloha Green Apothecary | Nimitz Highway, South King Street, Waikiki, Kapolei |
| Cure Oahu | Kapahulu Avenue, Kailua, Kapolei |
| Noa Botanicals | Young Street, Aiea, Kaneohe, Waikiki |
Because Hawaii licences are vertically integrated, each of those licensees also grows and manufactures. A Honolulu transaction is therefore a whole-platform transaction, closer to buying a vertically integrated group than a single store.
How does a Honolulu ownership change get approved?
Through the Department of Health first. Rule 11-850-8 bars the sale or transfer of a dispensary licence without the department’s prior written approval, on notice under HRS 329D-5.5, and limits any person to a single dispensary licence. That last point is decisive on Oahu: no buyer can assemble two of the three Honolulu licences. The buyer must also clear Hawaii’s five-year residency and majority-resident-ownership tests, which narrows the pool to local groups and to mainland parties willing to sit in a minority position. The approval sequence is set out in change of ownership approval, and structuring the deal around it is covered in regulatory-approval contingencies.
The city side runs in parallel. A change of owners does not usually disturb an existing zoning approval, but a relocation or an added location restarts the zoning and buffer analysis, including the state’s 750-foot separation from school grounds and playgrounds.
Local taxes
No local cannabis tax, and no state cannabis excise tax either. Oahu sales carry the general excise tax at 4 percent plus the City and County of Honolulu county surcharge of 0.5 percent, which runs from 1 January 2007 through 31 December 2030, for an effective 4.5 percent. That is low by national standards and removes one of the usual pricing drags on a retail acquisition. Real property tax on a dispensary building is assessed by the city under its ordinary commercial classes, which matters when a deal includes the real estate.
What this means for sellers and buyers
Sellers. Oahu is the deepest patient market in the state and there are only three licences here, so scarcity works in your favour. The constraint is the buyer pool: control has to stay with long-term Hawaii residents, and the department has to bless the transfer before anything moves. Start the residency and approval analysis before marketing, not after an LOI.
Buyers. Confirm that the retail sites are properly zoned and permitted, that the licence is clean, and that reported revenue ties to the state’s BioTrack data. Price the medical patient base as it is; Hawaii’s adult-use bills stalled again in 2026. Because the programme is medical-only, qualifying activity is outside 280E after the April 2026 federal order, which raises after-tax cash flow relative to adult-use markets. This is educational, not legal or tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
Does Honolulu issue its own cannabis business licence?
No. All cannabis licensing in Hawaii is state-level, through the Department of Health's Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation. The City and County of Honolulu controls only the physical site: zoning district, any conditional use permit, and building, electrical and sign permits through the Department of Planning and Permitting. There is no separate city cannabis permit, local cap or local application window.
How many dispensaries are open on Oahu?
Three licensees operate roughly a dozen retail dispensing locations across the island, listed on the state registry's Oahu page. Aloha Green Apothecary serves Nimitz, South King Street, Waikiki and Kapolei. Cure Oahu serves Kapahulu, Kailua and Kapolei. Noa Botanicals serves Young Street, Aiea, Kaneohe and Waikiki. Locations change, so confirm the current list with the Department of Health before pricing a deal.
Is there a Honolulu cannabis social equity programme?
No. Hawaii built its dispensary programme around long-term residency and capital tests rather than an equity licence class, and the City and County of Honolulu has not created a local equity programme or ownership set-aside. The practical access rule in Honolulu is the state one: the licensed entity must be at least 51 percent held by people who have been Hawaii legal residents for at least five years.
Does Honolulu add a local cannabis tax?
Not a cannabis-specific one. Hawaii has no cannabis excise or potency tax at all. What Oahu adds is the county surcharge on the general excise tax, 0.5 percent on top of the 4 percent state rate, so a Honolulu dispensary sale carries 4.5 percent. The surcharge runs through 31 December 2030 under the Department of Taxation's published schedule.
Can a mainland operator buy a Honolulu dispensary?
Only a minority position. Hawaii requires the licensed entity to be majority held by five-year Hawaii residents, so control cannot pass to an out-of-state buyer. Mainland capital typically comes in through a minority stake, a lease on the real estate, or a services arrangement, each of which is reviewed against Hawaii's disclosure rules before the Department of Health approves the change.
Sources
- Hawaii Department of Health — Oahu dispensary locations — https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/oahu-dispensary-locations/
- Cornell LII — Haw. Code R. 11-850-5, Number of licenses per county — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/hawaii/Haw-Code-R-SS-11-850-5
- Cornell LII — Haw. Code R. 11-850-8, Restrictions — https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/hawaii/Haw-Code-R-SS-11-850-8
- Hawaii Department of Taxation — County Surcharge on General Excise and Use Tax — https://tax.hawaii.gov/geninfo/countysurcharge/
- American Legal Publishing — Revised Ordinances of Honolulu chapter 21, Land Use Ordinance — https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/honolulu/latest/honolulu/0-0-0-18777
- American Legal Publishing — ROH 21-2.90, Conditional use permit, purpose and intent — https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/honolulu/latest/honolulu/0-0-0-19031
- City and County of Honolulu — Department of Planning and Permitting, zoning permits — https://www.honolulu.gov/dpp/permitting/zoning-permits/
- Hawaii Department of Health — Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation — https://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabis/