The department won’t identify the people who are deciding who will get the coveted licenses, and it also won’t say who appointed those people to a selection committee.

Questions regarding how many members there are on the application review panel and what organizations they’re associated with went unanswered Wednesday. In fact, the department is refusing to grant news media interviews with any staff members of the state Medical Marijuana Dispensary Program until licensees are chosen in mid-April.

An attorney who specializes in government transparency issues questions the legality of the secrecy, and one of the key figures in last year’s medical marijuana debate at the Legislature questions its wisdom.

Fifty-nine companies are competing for eight licenses to grow and sell marijuana in Hawaii. It’s a highly competitive process with millions of dollars on the line. [Read more at Honolulu Civil Beat]