And it only took 17 years…

Maui Grown Therapies executed its first sale of medical marijuana on Tuesday as Oahu-based Aloha Green announced they would begin selling the medicinal herb on Wednesday.

The state of Hawaii was among the first to embrace the efficacy of medical marijuana by legalizing the therapeutic plant in 2000. Permitted to cultivate but not to purchase their medicine, patients eventually convinced their elected officials to draft legislation legalizing Hawaii’s dispensaries in 2015.

Dr. Gregory Park, a co-founder of Maui Grown Therapies noted, “it’s been a long, winding road to get here and we’re extremely excited.”

According to the Star Advisor, “The Department of Health certified last week the state’s first pakalolo testing lab, Steep Hill Hawaii on Oahu.”

A case of hurry up and wait, Hawaii’s dispensaries have had medicinal cannabis stocked and ready to sell for months. As a means of ensuring patients’ safety, all dispensaries were required to hold off on opening until the Department of Health certified an independent lab for testing Hawaii’s medicinal cannabis for contaminants and cannabinoid content.

Now officially open for business, Maui Grown Therapies had the distinct privilege and honor of selling Hawaii’s first batch of medical marijuana on Tuesday to Fred Rickert.

As for Aloha Green, the dispensary has been open to the general public since June 8, selling CBD products derived from hemp. No longer restricted to just hemp-based products, Aloha Green will officially open their doors for business today, finally selling real medical marijuana products on the island of Oahu.

This article was originally published on Marijuana.com.

About Monterey Bud: Born in Long Beach, raised on the central coast: I surf, dab, burn, and blog – though not necessarily in that order. I'm a husband, a father and a lifelong consumer of connoisseur grade weed. I don't drink alcohol or consume any other "drugs." I consider myself to be living proof that weed is not a gateway drug. If it were, I'd be in some serious trouble. Instead, as a 50-year-old ex-realtor that has been smoking weed for nearly 80% of my life (just did the math) ... I can only say, marijuana is safer than prescription pills or alcohol could ever hope to be for calming what stirs the savage beast.