PANEL TO TAKE ANOTHER SWING AT MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Against a backdrop of dueling citizen initiatives, a lawsuit,
frustrated patients and flustered law enforcement officials, a
legislative committee is planning once again to take up the issue of
what should be done to untangle the mess created by Montana's
voter-approved medical marijuana law.

The law legalizing medicinal use of the plant was passed by a wide
margin by voters back in 2004.

With the federal government's decision last year to stop taking legal
steps against medicinal pot users and the state's creation of a
registry of certified patient-users, the number of people on that
registry has burgeoned to the neighborhood of 17,000.

In addition, the law allows for "caregivers" to provide marijuana to
patients on the registry.

As the medicinal use and the businesses supporting it grew, local
governments -- including in northcentral Montana -- grappled with
whether and how to regulate it.

The Children, Families, Health and Human Services Interim Committee
began the process of dealing with the issue in April, and it plans to
continue its exploration of the subject Monday in Helena (see box at
right).

Since the panel's last meeting, the Great Falls City Commission voted
to ban any land use for the purposes of medical marijuana, an action
that takes effect next Thursday.

That action is the target of two responses:

* A group called Great Falls Informed Voters plans to circulate a
petition to repeal the commission's action and allow marijuana
growers and dispensaries in the city. If they succeed at getting
5,335 valid signatures from within city limits, a measure to repeal
the ban could be placed on the Nov. 2 general election ballot, in
Great Falls only.

* A group of medical marijuana patients Tuesday filed suit in Cascade
County District court to have a court overturn the city ban.

At the other end of the spectrum, organizers of a petition drive
seeking a statewide ban on medical marijuana said last week that they
believed they had collected enough signatures to qualify for the
ballot in November.

Whether they collected enough valid signatures won't be known until
sometime in July.

Against that backdrop, the interim committee will take up the issue
at its meeting starting Monday morning.

The panel's tentative agenda calls for a staff overview of
recommendations from stakeholders in the issue; presentations from
different perspectives; a brief public comment period; followed by
discussion and a work session.

It's good to see the Legislature taking hold of the issue -- better
late than never.