Google Ranked Us #1. Then Hawaii’s Largest Cannabis Interests Started Asking the Government to Come After Us.
Federal lawsuit alleges Hawaii hemp industry crackdown was driven by cannabis lobbyists, government officials, and competitor complaints after a top-ranked Oahu hemp business became one of the state's
Internal Emails Reveal How a Top Cannabis Executive Targeted a Competing Hemp Business on the Same Day a New Restrictive Bill Was Introduced
There are moments when a stack of documents changes everything.
For me, that moment arrived when I obtained government records showing what was happening behind the scenes while Hawaii lawmakers were advancing legislation that would ultimately devastate much of the state’s hemp industry.
The documents tell a story that deserves public scrutiny.
And it begins with a simple fact:
Google ranked our business #1.
Not because we were politically connected.
Not because we had special licenses.
Not because we received government favors.
We earned that position the old-fashioned way: by serving customers, collecting reviews, investing in marketing, and building a business that consumers chose to support.
That success appears to have attracted the attention of powerful competitors.
The Email That Changes Everything
On January 23, 2025, Hawaii Representative Scot Matayoshi introduced House Bill 1482.
That bill would later become Act 269—the law now being challenged in federal court.
What happened next is remarkable.
According to records obtained through Hawaii’s public records process, Karlyn Laulusa, CEO of Noa Botanicals, contacted state officials the very same day.
In those communications, my company was specifically identified.
The reason?
Because we were highly visible.
Because we were competing.
Because consumers were finding us.
The documents include references to our business’s Google rankings and online presence. Rather than celebrating consumer choice and market competition, the communications focused on eliminating what was viewed as a problem.
The problem wasn’t public safety.
The problem was competition.
Follow the Timeline
The sequence of events matters.
A restrictive hemp bill appears.
Industry insiders begin communicating with regulators.
Specific competitors are identified.
Lists are exchanged.
Meetings are requested.
Government enforcement intensifies.
And eventually, legislation is enacted that dramatically benefits one group of market participants while severely harming another.
Readers can decide for themselves whether that sequence is merely coincidence.
But it raises questions that deserve answers.
Questions about influence.
Questions about fairness.
Questions about who government is really serving.
Hawaii’s Hemp Industry Wasn’t a Threat to Public Safety
One of the most important facts often missing from this discussion is that Hawaii’s hemp industry was not some tiny fringe market.
The state’s own commissioned cannabis market analysis estimated that consumers were spending millions of dollars every month on hemp-derived products.
That represents a massive amount of consumer demand.
Consumers were voting with their wallets.
They were choosing products.
Choosing businesses.
Choosing alternatives.
In a free market, that’s how competition works.
But when an industry gains enough market share to threaten entrenched interests, something else can happen.
Those interests can attempt to change the rules.
Competition Is Supposed to Be Won in the Marketplace
Every business owner understands competition.
If another company has better prices, improve your prices.
If another company has better service, improve your service.
If another company ranks higher online, improve your marketing.
That’s capitalism.
What’s not supposed to happen is using political influence to achieve what couldn’t be achieved through competition.
When businesses begin lobbying for laws that destroy competitors rather than protect consumers, the public deserves to know.
When government officials receive complaints that specifically identify competing businesses, the public deserves to know.
When regulatory power appears to align with private economic interests, the public deserves to know.
Transparency is not optional.
It is essential.
The Federal Lawsuit
Those concerns are now at the center of ongoing federal litigation.
The lawsuit challenges Hawaii’s hemp restrictions and raises serious constitutional questions regarding due process, regulatory authority, and the state’s treatment of businesses that relied on prior law.
The case is about more than hemp.
It is about whether government can change the rules after businesses have invested millions of dollars, hired employees, signed leases, and built legitimate operations.
It is about whether politically connected interests should be allowed to influence outcomes behind closed doors.
And it is about whether small businesses receive equal protection under the law.
Why This Matters Beyond Hemp
Even readers who have never purchased a hemp product should care about this story.
Because today it is hemp.
Tomorrow it could be another industry.
Another entrepreneur.
Another local business.
Another group of consumers whose choices become inconvenient for established interests.
The principle remains the same.
Government should not be used as a weapon against competitors.
Laws should be written to protect the public—not to protect market share.
And regulators should serve citizens—not special interests.
The Receipts Exist
For months, many people dismissed concerns about what was happening in Hawaii as speculation.
The records tell a different story.
They show communications.
They show timelines.
They show who was talking to whom.
And they show that some of Hawaii’s most powerful cannabis interests were actively focused on businesses like mine while legislation was moving through the system.
That deserves scrutiny.
That deserves accountability.
And that deserves public discussion.
The public can review the evidence and reach its own conclusions.
As for me, I intend to continue asking questions.
And I intend to continue fighting.
Not because it’s easy.
Not because it’s profitable.
But because no business should have to wonder whether its biggest competitor is trying to beat it in the marketplace—or in the halls of government.
The fight continues.
And now the public can see why.
Lance Alyas
Oahu Dispensary and Provisions