Hawaii sees first legal cannabis-infused dinner event

Hawaii’s first legal cannabis-infused dinner event will be held on December 1, 2018 at HASR Bistro (31 N. Pauahi Street) in Chinatown, Honolulu, organized and sponsored by two new, local, cannabis-related companies led by women: Hawaii Heals and Alia Cannabis. The event serves as a mini-summit to provide community leaders and stakeholders with a platform to discuss the impact and opportunities of the growing cannabis industry in Hawaii.

All attendees must be registered with the 329 Hawaii Medical Cannabis Program. While open to anyone with 329 cards, seats are limited and tickets to the function cost $135.

The evening will be led by the entrepreneurs of the sponsoring companies, who will present topics and moderate critical conversations about how the community can work together to optimize the economic, social, and therapeutic value of cannabis for Hawaii’s future. The event will also include live entertainment, featured art, and a cannabis-infused, 3-course dinner prepared specifically for a subtle, microdosed experience. To encourage the mindful consumption of cannabis and intentional dialogue, alcohol and the smoking of cannabis will not be part of the event.

Hawaii Heals provides intentional, private, full-service environments for patients and clients seeking mental, emotional, and physical transformations aided by the healing properties of cannabis and nature, completely free of stigma. The company’s flagship medical cannabis retreat campus, Diamond Hook Ranch, nestled deep in a valley of the North Shore of Oahu, will launch in early 2019.

Hawaii Heals founder Tanya Johnson states, “As business owners in the cannabis industry, we recognize that private businesses have a social responsibility to give back to our communities. It begins with making cannabis accessible, not only to patients needing natural treatment options, but also to talented entrepreneurs in our community looking for economic opportunities that we have seen can create massive value in the states that legalize cannabis – and to make sure that we acknowledge and provide reparations to those whose lives have been upended by calling for the expungement of cannabis-related convictions.”

“Another major objective of this event is to de-stigmatize cannabis, and the first step of that is to make everything about it completely aboveboard and legal. It is possible to work with the legal system built around the cannabis industry in Hawaii and still move forward with the community. For example, we had to secure specific, and expensive, insurance covering the gathering as a cannabis event. Selling cannabis is illegal if you are not a licensed dispensary, so the infused dinner itself is technically free for those who purchase tickets for the networking, live entertainment, and education,” explains Me Fuimaono-Poe, founder of Alia Cannabis and an APRN who certifies patients for the 329 card.

Alia Cannabis is a mobile cannabis education platform app designed to assist individuals to navigate and discover cannabis as a medicine. Built by Malie Cannabis Clinic, Hawaii’s first APRN-owned cannabis clinic, Alia will launch in 2019 to help patients learn about and build customized cannabis treatments matched to their individual needs based on symptoms and established pharmacologic science.

Johnson adds, “Nurse Me and I have raised our children in Hawaii and have worked collaboratively over the last three years to educate the community about the medicinal benefits of cannabis and, more importantly, to set the tone through our actions, words, and business practices as to how we can embrace cannabis to benefit our loved ones and our community for generations to come.”

More information and event details are available at http://cannabisdinner2018.eventbrite.com, where tickets can be purchased.