HONOLULU -- A Washington state lawmaker and criminal justice expert is making the rounds this week to talk about medical marijuana.

Rep. Roger Goodman met with local lawmakers, and the Hawaii State Bar Association to lay the groundwork for reforming drug policies.

Goodman says Washington state is about on par with Hawaii when it comes to medicinal cannabis laws. Goodman has been traveling to see how other states have established regulated marijuana dispensaries. Goodman said he wants to avoid the mistakes that other locales have run into.

“It really is an urgent matter to create a safe distribution system for those who can use it medically,” said Washington state Rep Roger Goodman.

Tuesday Goodman spoke to a group at the Neil Blaisdell Center. The event was sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii.

The owner of a Kalihi garden shop says he sees customers come in all the time who don’t know where to go for help and don’t know who to ask.

“No matter what, they are still scared. They are always scared to say I am part of this program. I can grow medical marijuana.' They are scared because they think I might me a cop," said Aron Gonsalves, owner of Green Hands of Aloha.

The trend to move toward regulated dispensaries is something that some say Hawaii needs to begin talking about.10 years ago Hawaii was the first state to legislatively make medical marijuana legal, but those laws have not been updated since.

“If a person is prescribed medical cannabis, how does one start growing a plant, or how does one get seeds? That is not addressed in any law,” said Sen. Wil Espero.

He expects the issue to come up at the next legislative session.