MONTANA LEGISLATURE TO LOOK INTO MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUES

Prescription drug regulations span literally thousands of pages in
state and federal statutes, as well as Federal Drug Administration rules.

Pharmacists must go to college for six years, spend a year in the
field and pass tests proving they mastered both medicine and Montana
law before they can sell prescription medication. Pharmacies also are
required to keep detailed records and be audited annually.

In contrast, Montana's law regulating medical marijuana covers six
pages -- including the title page. Providers must be named by a
licensed patient and have no drug offenses on their criminal records
in order to legally grow and sell marijuana for medical purposes.

Legislators intentionally left many details vague when crafting the
law in response to a 2004 voter initiative as they did not want to
get too tangled in the complicated legal morass.

But with the number of medical marijuana patients in the state
increasing to more than 12,000 and the number of caregivers also
increasing quickly, the Legislature is being drawn back into the topic.

"I don't think anyone envisioned what would happen with this industry
when they created the statute," Havre City Councilman Andrew Brekke
said. "We're going to need some direction."

A legislative interim committee will begin taking up issues related
to medical marijuana Tuesday morning when it conducts four panel
discussions and takes public testimony.

Government officials, caregivers and patients have dozens of
unanswered questions about medical marijuana, including:

What can cities and counties do through zoning to control where
medical marijuana can be used or sold?

What problems are raised by marijuana remaining a Schedule 1 illegal
narcotic under federal law?

Since schools are drug-free zones, can caregivers sell within 1,000
feet of school zones?

If caregivers sell baked goods containing marijuana, do they need to
pass health inspections as a restaurant would?

Do patients need to tell their employers of their status?

Do caregivers need to tell their landlords about their business?

Should patients be required to tell their caregivers if they take
prescription medications and tell their pharmacist if they use
medical marijuana?

Do caregivers need insurance and/or business licenses?

Should caregivers follow the same rules as farmers regarding
fertilizers and pest control?

Caregivers are allowed to grow six plants per patient, but how big
can a plant be, and what happens to unused stems and leafs?

Caregivers also are told to have a constant supply for each patient,
so can they start seedlings before the mature plants are used up?

"They're not going to sit down this legislative session and fix every
single problem," state Narcotics Bureau Chief Mark Long said of
legislators. "We have been ignoring this for a year now. That hasn't
gotten us where we need to be."

A group of caregivers recently formed the Montana Medical Growers
Association with the goals of ensuring patients get a quality
product; educating patients, caregivers, law enforcement officials
and local governments; and voicing cultivators' concerns and opinions
to state legislators and city officials.

"The majority of patients and caregivers desire to work within the
rules," association Executive Director Jim Gingery said. "If there's
confusion in the law we need to clarify it. An all-out ban does not
solve the problem."

He envisions a future in which patients will have test kits to
determine the strength of the product they buy, under a law guided
not by zealots on either side but by common sense.

"With any new industry, there's going to be growing pains," Gingery
said. "We want Montana to be a model to other states on how to do it
the right way. We need a plan that addresses issues from all sides
and does so in a responsible manner."