Woody Harrelson Latest Star to Jump on Marijuana Bandwagon with Hawaii Dispensary

Following the footsteps of the likes of Willie Nelson and Snoop Dogg, Woody Harrelson, a longtime marijuana advocate, is the latest celebrity to jump on the chance to make a business out of it. The Hunger Games star has applied to create his own cannabis dispensary in Hawaii, and he's among the first in the state.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actor is one of the first dozens of people to apply for the chance to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Hawaii, as authorities just released the full list of 66. Currently, the state Department of Health is reviewing applications to award permits, which will happen in April.

Harrelson applied for a license through his company, Simple Organic Living, to have a dispenser in Honolulu County. The True Detective actor will be competing with the likes of video game entrepreneur Henk Rogers (of Tetris fame) and local TV producer Dirk Fukushima.

Honolulu's Star Advertiser reports that only eight dispensaries will be getting licenses to start working next year, and there's a potential for many more in the 2017 process. After the eight companies have their licenses approved, they'll be able to dispense medical marijuana starting July 15.

According to Act 241, which was just adopted in Hawaii, each of the licensed companies will be allowed two dispensaries as well as two growing centers, and there will be "six on Oahu, four on Maui, four on Hawaii Island and two on Kauai."

Ahead of applying for a license, the eight chosen companies will have to pay $1 million cash before as well as $100,000 for each of their dispensary's locations, and applicants must have resided in Hawaii for a period longer than five years.

Currently, there's pending legislation in Hawaii to also have recreational marijuana approved in the state, but experts don't believe they'll be approved this year.