State inspectors converged upon several Oahu Dispensary and Provisions locations at once as the company’s federal challenge to Hawaii’s hemp rules remains pending.
HONOLULU — Hawaii Department of Health agents raced to multiple Oahu Dispensary and Provisions stores at the same time this week in a coordinated enforcement sweep that forced employees across the company to respond simultaneously.
Teams of agents arrived without warning, entered several locations and confronted employees over compliance with state hemp regulations. Workers were questioned and warned that the business could face consequences if it failed to follow the rules being enforced by the department.
The operation unfolded across the company at once rather than as a conventional inspection of a single location. Employees began contacting management from different stores as agents conducted parallel visits, leaving the business to coordinate its response across several sites in real time.
Video recordings from onlookers who witnessed the scene and the retailer’s security system showcase the aggressive nature of the sweep, with agents entering the hemp retailer’s celebrated kiosks and rummaging through materials, taking photos, and documenting, all while employees stood outside.
The sweep is especially troubling as it occurred while ODP owner Lance Alyas is pursuing a federal lawsuit against the department over some of the same hemp restrictions agents were enforcing.
The case, Alyas v. Lopez, is pending before U.S. District Judge Jill Otake. Otake heard arguments July 2 on the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction (and the government’s motion to dismiss) but has not yet issued a ruling.
The lawsuit alleges that the Health Department exceeded its authority by using Hawaii Administrative Rules Chapter 11-37 to restore restrictions on smokable hemp products after the Legislature repealed the statutory prohibition through Act 263 in 2023.
ODP had removed the disputed inventory from its shelves before statewide enforcement began July 1 and continued operating with products it maintained were compliant. The department nevertheless deployed agents to several of its stores at the same time, including Andrew Goff, the Program Manager for the DOH’s Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation.
Employees initially scrambled as inspections began simultaneously. Management directed workers to cooperate, communicate with the agents and preserve documentation of the encounters.
Agents returned to the stores the following day. During the visits, the names on some agents’ identification badges were covered or removed, making it more difficult to determine which officials entered each store and who made particular statements recorded during the inspections.
The concealed names also raised questions about compliance with department procedures requiring field personnel to display identification.
Alyas described the approach as an effort to overwhelm the company.
“They knew management could not be physically present at every store at the same time,” he said. “They chose to hit all of them together.”
The Health Department has not publicly addressed the coordinated nature of the operation, the conduct of its agents or the concealed badge names. The Trade Wind contacted the department for comment but has yet to hear back.
DOH announced June 23 that statewide enforcement of its hemp regulations would begin July 1, one day before the federal court hearing on the requested injunction.
The lawsuit also raises claims under the federal Farm Bill, the dormant Commerce Clause and procedural due process. Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez and Health Director Kenneth Fink are named as defendants.
“We are complying with the law and respecting the court,” Alyas said. “We are also documenting exactly how this enforcement campaign is being carried out.”
