{"id":45330,"date":"2020-11-10T12:38:20","date_gmt":"2020-11-10T20:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2020\/11\/10\/the-long-and-winding-road-to-cannabis-legalization-in-montana\/"},"modified":"2020-11-10T13:45:25","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T21:45:25","slug":"the-long-and-winding-road-to-cannabis-legalization-in-montana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2020\/11\/10\/the-long-and-winding-road-to-cannabis-legalization-in-montana\/","title":{"rendered":"The Long and Winding Road to Cannabis Legalization in Montana"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

In a victory that was a long time coming for cannabis advocates in Big Sky Country, Montana voters approved twin ballot measures mandating legalization and establishment of an adult-use market in the state last week. \u00a0\u00a0
Constitutional Initiative No. 118<\/a>, which was\u00a0approved by nearly 58%<\/a>,\u00a0amends the state constitution, allowing the Legislature to set a legal age for purchasing or possessing cannabis. This, in turn, permits the terms of\u00a0Initiative 190<\/a>, which passed\u00a0by not quite 57%<\/a>. This will allow those over the age of 21 to possess up to an ounce of cannabis or eight grams of cannabis concentrate. It also allows individuals to grow up to four plants for personal use. Regulated sales are to be permitted, with non-medical cannabis to be taxed at 20% of retail price.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the\u00a0Great Falls Tribune<\/a>\u00a0notes, the promoters of I-190 say it will generate up to $48 million annually in tax revenue and licensing fees by 2025. Just over 10% of the revenue will go into the general state fund, with the remainder \u201cdedicated to accounts for conservation programs, substance abuse treatment, veterans\u2019 services, health care costs and localities where marijuana is sold,\u201d according to the text of the measure. Individual counties will be allowed to prohibit dispensaries. Advertising will be barred statewide.<\/p>\n

Those currently serving prison time for \u201can act permitted by I-190\u201d will be able to apply for resentencing or expungement of the conviction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Threat of Repeal\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Under the terms of I-190, the Montana Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act is to take effect no later than Oct. 1, 2021, the deadline for the\u00a0Department of Revenue<\/a>\u00a0to establish oversight regulations and begin accepting applications for dispensaries. Sales are projected to start in January 2022, but there could be political roadblocks between now and then.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Great Falls Tribune<\/a>\u00a0reports that the legalization push was spearheaded by\u00a0New Approach Montana<\/a>, which spent over $140,000 on signature-gathering efforts to get the initiatives on the ballot. They were opposed by the\u00a0Wrong for Montana<\/a>\u00a0coalition\u2014which is backed up by the\u00a0Montana Chamber of Commerce<\/a>,\u00a0Montana Bankers Association<\/a>,\u00a0Montana Contractors Association<\/a>\u00a0and other pillars of the state\u2019s establishment. Opposition to I-190 also received support from the national anti-legalization outfit\u00a0Smart Approaches to Marijuana<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These opponents sought to fend off the twin initiatives before they even passed. Two weeks prior to the election, Wrong for Montana and its founder, Billings car dealer Steve Zabawa, went to the state Supreme Court, seeking to block I-190 on a narrow technicality \u2013 that only the Legislature can earmark tax revenues. The court\u00a0turned them down<\/a>, finding that the legal team did not demonstrate sufficient urgency to skip over the usual trial and appeal process. However, the court did not rule on the merits, which means a case against implementation of I-190 could still be brought forth.<\/p>\n

Earlier in October, a group of Republican legislators drafted a bill to preemptively repeal I-190. Rep. Derek Skees of Kalispell, chief drafter of the bill, agreed to withdraw the repeal after the vote in light of the initiative\u2019s easy passage. \u201cSay 51%, then that bill would\u2019ve been a good idea, because then it would\u2019ve allowed us to say, \u2018Well, listen, Montanans are a little confused on this. Not everybody was really for it,’\u201d Skees told\u00a0NBC Montana<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

When asked if a repeal might be an option in the future, he responded, \u201cThe only branch of government in this state dumb enough to overturn citizens\u2019 initiative is the Supreme Court, which has done it repeatedly.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The expansion of cannabis freedom in Montana has been met with heavy resistance though, and this gives cause for concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n

D\u00e9j\u00e0 vu in Big Sky Country\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n

For longtime Montana cannabis activists, there was a sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu to the efforts to head off legalization in the high court and statehouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Montana voters approved medical marijuana in a 2004 initiative,\u00a0I-148<\/a>, which passed by a handy 60%, but a backlash was sparked by an explosion in the number of registered users as the medical sector began to take off. In 2010, the number jumped from about 1,000 users to more than 25,000 statewide, with some businesses operating out of traveling \u201ccaravans<\/a>\u201d that quickly diagnosed people for maladies that could be treated with cannabis. There were even\u00a0arson attacks<\/a>\u00a0on dispensaries in Billings that spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The following year, legislation was introduced to rein in the program and overturn the terms of the 2004 medical cannabis initiative. Montana\u2019s then-Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer\u00a0once vetoed<\/a>\u00a0such a bill, but finally relented in April 2011, and\u00a0allowed the bill to take effect<\/a>\u00a0without his signature, under a special provision of the state constitution.<\/p>\n

The new legislation limited providers to no more than three patients each, barred them from receiving compensation, and imposed other restrictions, including a ban on advertising. After the law was passed, registered users rapidly\u00a0dropped below 12,000<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Montana Cannabis Industry Association<\/a>\u00a0challenged the new law as an unconstitutional restriction on their business. The Montana Supreme Court\u00a0ruled<\/a>\u00a0against them in September 2012, finding that there is no fundamental right to cultivation, distribution or use of medical marijuana. The high court sent the decision back to Helena district court, instructing it to use a \u201crational basis\u201d instead of a \u201cstrict scrutiny\u201d test to determine whether the law would pass muster. The \u201cstrict scrutiny\u201d test places a heavier burden on the state to justify a law, requiring a compelling state interest. A \u201crational basis\u201d review is the lowest level of scrutiny a court can apply, only requiring a law to be rationally related to a legitimate state interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Advocates also sought to put the issue to the voters again, but in a ballot initiative that November, the state\u00a0voted to keep<\/a>\u00a0the more restrictive measures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The litigation wound its way back through the appeals process and ended up before the state Supreme Court again in 2016. That February, the high court\u00a0upheld provisions<\/a>\u00a0of the restrictive 2011 law, finding them a \u201crational response\u201d to the dramatic increase in users. In one victory for the state\u2019s burgeoning cannabis industry, the provision that banned providers from receiving compensation was struck down. There was fear of widespread closure of dispensaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the situation was salvaged that November when\u00a0voters approved<\/a> Initiative 182<\/a> \u2013 a second and successful attempt to reverse the restrictive provisions of the 2011 bill.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another advance came last year when the Legislature approved a bill to \u201cuntether<\/a>\u201d medical marijuana users, allowing them to purchase from more than one dispensary or \u201cprovider.\u201d The \u201cuntethering\u201d\u00a0took effect<\/a>\u00a0this June.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are currently 38,385 people enrolled in the\u00a0Montana Medical Marijuana Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Protecting the Will of the Voters<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ryan Saghatelian is the owner of Greener Pastures<\/a>, a dispensary which opened in Bozeman in 2008 and now also has outlets in Missoula and Big Sky. Reached by Cannabis Now, he spoke of his plan to expand from the medical to the \u201crecreational\u201d market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be applying as soon as we can,\u201d he said in a phone interview, noting that approval from the Revenue Department for recreational sales will be needed on top of the company\u2019s existing approval for medical sales from the state\u00a0Department of Public Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s looking like it\u2019s going to work in concert, with medical and adult use existing side by side,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is probably a good thing, because the taxes are only 4% on the medical side. It would be great for those people who really need it to get the tax break.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

In contrast to the medical market, adult-use sales will not be restricted to state residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would like to do both \u2013 keep our medical patients happy and bring our products to a larger market, including the many tourists and visitors we get every year,\u201d Saghatelian said, adding that with Montana\u2019s\u00a0\u201cgreat outdoors\u201d emphasis, tourism is still thriving despite the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

Saghatelian also notes that the recreational law will allow contracting and wholesale opportunities in addition to retail sales. \u201cWe\u2019d love to supply edibles and concentrates to smaller providers that don\u2019t want to deal with production,\u201d he said, adding that it also benefits the consumers, as they will have more options to choose from.<\/p>\n

While outdoor growing is permitted in Montana, Saghatelian says that the state\u2019s early frosts and short growing season are \u201cnot for the faint of heart.\u201d Meanwhile, he boasts that Montana has \u201csome of the best indoor in the country.\u201d Bozeman and Missoula have emerged as centers of cultivation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Saghatelian considers the seeming irony that his state\u00a0voted for Republican candidates<\/a>\u00a0up and down the ballot on Nov. 3. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of interesting how red the vote was in Montana, and yet there was overwhelming support for marijuana legalization. There\u2019s a kind of libertarian element, even among the state\u2019s conservatives,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope the lawmakers don\u2019t go back on the will of the voters in the spring,\u201d Saghatelian concludes.\u00a0\u201cI hope they don\u2019t whittle the law down so much that it\u2019s worthless\u2026We need to stay vigilant as voters to make sure that our lawmakers respect our wishes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The post The Long and Winding Road to Cannabis Legalization in Montana<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: The Long and Winding Road to Cannabis Legalization in Montana<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a victory that was a long time coming for cannabis advocates in Big Sky Country, Montana voters approved twin ballot measures mandating legalization and establishment of an adult-use market in the state last week. \u00a0\u00a0Constitutional Initiative No. 118, which was\u00a0approved by nearly 58%,\u00a0amends the state constitution, allowing the LegislatureContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,10535,90,65,14679,1918,3213,14680],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45330"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45330"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45331,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45330\/revisions\/45331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}