(a) An individual drug user may not bring an action for damages caused by the use of an illegal drug, except as otherwise provided in this section. An individual drug user may bring an action for damages caused by that individual’s use of an illegal drug only if all of the following conditions are met:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 663E-3

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Illegal drug: means "dangerous drugs" or a "harmful drug" as defined in section 712-1240. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 663E-1
  • Individual drug user: means the individual whose illegal drug use is the basis of an action brought under this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 663E-1
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(1) The individual has not used an illegal drug within the six months before filing the action; and
(2) The individual continues to remain free of the use of an illegal drug throughout the pendency of the action.
(b) A person entitled to bring an action under this section may seek damages only from a person who distributed, or is in the chain of distribution of, the illegal drug that was used by the individual drug user.
(c) A person entitled to bring an action under this section may recover only the following damages:

(1) Economic damages, including but not limited to the cost of treatment, rehabilitation, and medical expenses, loss of economic or educational potential, loss of productivity, absenteeism, accidents or injury, and any other pecuniary loss associated with the person’s illegal drug use;
(2) Reasonable attorney’s fees; and
(3) Costs of suit including but not limited to reasonable expenses for expert testimony.
(d) Twenty-five per cent of any actual recovery of damages by the plaintiff under this section, whether by settlement, execution on a judgment, or otherwise, shall be turned over to the State for deposit into the general fund.

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