image courtesy Big Island Grown

(BIVN) – With County permits in hand and a notice to proceed from the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Big Island Grown Dispensaries today announced the opening of the company’s third medical cannabis dispensary, and its first in Kona.

The retail location will be in the Brewer’s Block, right next to Kona Brewing Company, at 74-5617 Pawai Place in Kailua-Kona.

image courtesy Big Island Grown

Big Island Grown will be celebrating the Grand Opening of the Kona store on August 8th for “808 Day”, which will include live music and glass blowing, haku lei making, and various vendors such as Hilo Grow Shop, Rosinshine and Black Sand Glass. The Vibe Cafe will also be doing a one day only Kona pop-up event featuring customer favorites, the company says.

Lau Ola LLC, doing business as Big Island Grown Dispensaries, is also announcing a management restructuring. Dylan Shropshire, Founder and member of the Board of Directors of Lau Ola LLC, will be transitioning into the role of Chief Operating Officer, while Jaclyn Moore, Pharm.D., will assume the position of Chief Executive Officer.

“We take our responsibility very seriously: to execute the vision the State has for its medical program and its patients,” CEO Moore said. “We have invested in a complete build out to the highest standards, and as this medical program evolves we intend on staying at the forefront of quality, affordability and patient advocacy.”

“B.I.G is committed to excellence and putting the right people in key positions,” said Shropshire. “Big Island Grown has been committed to improving access to cannabis medicine by opening the maximum allowable retail locations for the benefit of all patients on Big Island,” he added.

Big Island Grown Dispensaries opened its second retail location in Waimea earlier this year in March and its first retail center opened in Hilo in January. “Big Island Grown’s Kona dispensary further expands the accessibility of cannabis for medical use for registered patients,” said Michele Nakata, supervisor of the health department’s Medical Cannabis Dispensary Licensing Program. “We continue to work with licensees to ensure the sale of safe products that comply with state laws and regulations.”

Although this will by the third dispensary opened by Big Island Grown on Hawaiʻi Island, it will be the first opened in a town where another dispensary has already been established. Hawaiian Ethos, the other licensed dispensary operating on Hawaiʻi Island, is located at 73-5613 Olowalu Street, Suite 7 in Kailua-Kona. It received its notice to proceed on June 24, 2019.

According to Big Island Grown:

Big Island Grown Kona will be open 7 days a week to serve patients from 10AM to 6PM. Initial menu offerings will include a robust selection of newly harvested high grade flowers, different types or flavors of concentrates, soft and hard lozenges, pharmacist compounded topical pain cream, various tinctures, and several flavors of solvent-free and solventless cartridges. Patients can expect the same quality of experience and deals as the Hilo and Waimea locations. As innovators of the Mix&Match program, patients can select up to 8 strains for the lowest price of an ounce in the State.

image courtesy Big Island Grown

“There are more than 26,000 patients and over 2,000 caregivers registered statewide”, the health department says. “Nearly 30 percent of these patients and 22 percent of the caregivers reside on Hawai‘i Island. As of June 30, 2019, there were approximately 7,611 registered patients and 445 caregivers on Hawai‘i Island. The primary qualifying medical condition reported for adult registered patients is severe pain. The primary reported condition for children under 18 years of age is seizures.”