Hawaii Cannabis Advertising Laws

Hawaii prohibits dispensary advertising through broadcast media, electronic media including the internet and social media, print media, billboards, and placards on public transit vehicles or shelters. A dispensary may provide contact information, its retail dispensing location and a product list, but only through its website or a private messaging system, and only where an individual has requested that information.

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Under §11-850-145(a), a dispensary licensee shall not advertise through broadcast media, electronic media or print media. The provision permits a dispensary to provide only general information in three categories, by means of a website or a private messaging system in which an individual requests such information.

Hawaii is medical only. The state legalised medical cannabis in 2000 and established a dispensary system in 2015 under HRS Chapter 329D. The regulator is the Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation within the Department of Health.

Advertising sits in HAR Chapter 11-850, the medical cannabis dispensary rules, at §11-850-145. There is one advertising rule set; Hawaii has no adult-use programme.

These are interim rules, amended frequently. Versions took effect in December 2015, February 2022, April 2022, November 2022, August 2023, April 2024, December 2024, and most recently November 17, 2025. The November 2025 amendments added content prohibitions that the earlier versions did not contain. Check the version date on any Hawaii source before relying on it.

This page is part of our state-by-state cannabis advertising laws library, covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The prohibition

Under §11-850-145(a), a dispensary licensee shall not advertise through broadcast media, electronic media, or print media, which the rule works through as radio, television, the internet, social media, newspapers, magazines, billboards, and placards on public transit vehicles or public transit shelters.

The exception

Under the same provision, a dispensary licensee may provide only general information on the dispensary's contact information, its retail dispensing location, and a list of products available for dispensing with a description limited to the information specified in §11-850-143, by means of a website or a private messaging system in which an individual requests such information from the dispensary.

Three categories are named: contact information, retail dispensing location, and a product list whose descriptions are capped by §11-850-143. Two delivery methods are named: a website and a private messaging system. The provision states the condition that an individual requests the information.

Business name and licence number

Not required in advertising. The permitted signage under §11-850-145 bears the business or trade name.

The required warning statements

None. Chapter 11-850 mandates no warning language in the permitted information.

How the warnings have to appear

Not applicable, as none are required.

When the warnings are not required

Not applicable. Chapter 11-850 contains no advertising disclosure requirement to disapply.

Hotline number

No. Chapter 11-850 requires no helpline, hotline or poison control number.

Prohibited content

• Under §11-850-145(d), a dispensary and its employees shall not make health or benefit claims regarding its products. The provision names employees as well as the dispensary, and states no substantiation route.
• Under §11-850-145(c), a dispensary shall not use the words "candy" and "candies" on advertising, product lists, or product menus.
• Under the amendments effective November 17, 2025, no depictions of cannabis use, children, celebrities, influencers, cartoons appealing to children, or products that resemble commercial food or candy, in advertising, signage, menus, or waiting room displays. The prohibition names menus and waiting room displays expressly.

Discounts, coupons, and price promotion

Price and offers are not among the three information categories permitted by §11-850-145(a), and the channels through which a promotion would be communicated are prohibited by the same provision.

Pre-approval

Chapter 11-850 contains no pre-approval requirement for advertising.

What the Law Requires

Chapter 11-850 states no age threshold and no audience test for advertising. The controls at §11-850-145 are channel-based and content-based. The operative condition on the permitted information is that an individual has requested it.

The November 2025 amendments prohibit depictions of children and cartoons appealing to children. Hawaii's medical programme includes qualifying minor patients, for whom one or both parents or guardians may register as caregivers.

Audience Percentage Thresholds

Chapter 11-850 sets no audience composition percentage for any medium. This is an absence in the rules rather than an omission from this page. Other states do set one: Connecticut requires reliable evidence that at least 90 percent of the audience is 21 or older, and Delaware requires at least 85 percent. Chapter 11-850 states no equivalent figure.

Section 11-850-145(a) is framed as a prohibition on advertising through named media rather than as a condition on audience composition.

Event sponsorship

Chapter 11-850 sets no audience threshold specific to event sponsorship.

Where the burden sits

On the dispensary licensee. Section 11-850-145(a) places the prohibition and the request condition on the licensee, and §11-850-145(d) extends the health and benefit claims prohibition to its employees.

Age Gating and Consent

Websites

Chapter 11-850 prescribes no website age gate and no age verification requirement.

Direct communication

Chapter 11-850 contains no age affirmation requirement. Under §11-850-145(a), a private messaging system may carry the three permitted information categories where an individual requests them from the dispensary.

Location-based devices

Chapter 11-850 contains no location-based device provision.

Established customers

Chapter 11-850 states no exception for existing customers. The condition at §11-850-145(a) is that the individual requests the information.

People Depicted in Ads

Since November 17, 2025, depictions of cannabis use, children, celebrities, influencers, and cartoons appealing to children are prohibited in advertising, signage, menus and waiting room displays, along with products resembling commercial food or candy.

The prohibition on celebrity and influencer depiction is stated without reference to the audience they appeal to. Chapter 11-850 sets no minimum age for persons appearing in advertising.

Restricted Locations and Buffer Distances

Chapter 11-850 states no advertising buffer. The rules state no distance around schools, childcare facilities, playgrounds, parks or libraries. This is an absence in the rules rather than an omission from this page.

What applies instead

Section 11-850-145(a) prohibits placards on public transit vehicles and public transit shelters. Section 11-850-145 caps premises signage at one sign of no more than 1,600 square inches and defers to any more restrictive law or ordinance. Cannabis and manufactured cannabis products may not be displayed in windows or in public view.

County Sign Ordinances

Section 11-850-145 provides that where any applicable law or ordinance restricting outdoor signage is more restrictive than the stated limit, that law or ordinance governs. Hawaii county ordinances restrict outdoor signage, and may impose limits tighter than 1,600 square inches.

Can You Run a Digital Out of Home Screen in Hawaii?

Section 11-850-145(a) prohibits advertising through electronic media and prohibits billboards and transit placards. The permitted exterior surface under §11-850-145 is a single sign of no more than 1,600 square inches bearing only the business or trade name in text, without pictures or illustrations.

Compliant Use of Geotargeting

• Chapter 11-850 states no advertising buffer, and permits no paid media placement to geofence.
• The permitted channels under §11-850-145(a) are a website and a private messaging system, conditioned on an individual requesting the information.
• Cap product descriptions at what §11-850-143 specifies, as §11-850-145(a) requires.
• Check the county sign ordinance before installing any premises sign, since §11-850-145 defers to a more restrictive law or ordinance.
• Re-check the rule version before planning. Chapter 11-850 is issued as interim rules and has been amended eight times since 2015, most recently on November 17, 2025.

One advertising rule set. Hawaii is medical only. The state legalised medical cannabis in 2000 through Act 228 and added a dispensary system through Act 241 in 2015 under HRS Chapter 329D. The registry programme operates under HRS Chapter 329 Part IX and HAR Chapter 11-160; dispensaries operate under HRS 329D and HAR Chapter 11-850. Possession of small amounts was decriminalised in 2019.

Hawaii recognises out-of-state patients registered in other states, who may obtain a temporary registration while visiting. Qualifying minor patients are permitted, with one or both parents or guardians registering as caregivers.

The November 2025 amendments prohibit in-person or telehealth certification visits with medical providers at dispensary facilities. The same amendments permit dispensaries to sell cannabis-related supplies such as vaporizers, grinders, storage containers, rolling papers, filters and cones, and permit sale of inhalable oil extracts and concentrates that contain no nicotine, hemp or hemp-derived cannabinoids, tobacco or other non-cannabis substances. Those products sit inside the dispensary channel and within §11-850-145.

Who regulates hemp here

The Department of Health regulates hemp processing and hemp-derived products for human consumption, alongside the Department of Agriculture for cultivation. Not the dispensary rules at Chapter 11-850.

Non-intoxicating hemp and CBD

Permitted subject to the Department of Health's requirements, which restrict the addition of CBD to food and beverages. A hemp product sold outside the licensed dispensary channel is not a dispensary advertising its products, so Chapter 11-850 does not apply to it. General Hawaii consumer protection law and federal restrictions on health claims apply instead.

Intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids

Hawaii restricts intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products. The November 2025 dispensary amendments permit dispensary sale of inhalable extracts only where they contain no hemp or hemp-derived cannabinoids. The federal definition of hemp narrows in November 2026. Confirm the current position before planning a hemp campaign.

What it means for advertising

Section 11-850-145 binds dispensary licensees. A hemp product sold outside the dispensary channel is not advertised by a dispensary licensee, so that provision does not apply to it. Classify each product before building a media plan.

Every statement on this page traces to one of the following:

• HAR Chapter 11-850, Medical Cannabis Dispensaries, interim rules effective November 17, 2025, including §11-850-145 advertising and §11-850-143 product information
• Hawaii Department of Health, announcement of Chapter 11-850 amendments, November 2025
• HRS Chapter 329D, Medical Cannabis Dispensary Law, and HRS Chapter 329 Part IX, medical use of cannabis
• HAR Chapter 11-160, medical cannabis registry programme
• Hawaii Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation

Chapter 11-850 is issued as interim rules and has been amended eight times since 2015. Confirm the current version before relying on any provision.