CITY RELEASES PROPOSED MEDICAL MARIJUANA RULES

The draft of a Bozeman city ordinance released Thursday regulating
medical marijuana calls for continuing a 1,000-foot buffer between
schools and cannabis shops, city inspections of shops and a ban on
public use of the drug, among other things.

The ordinance was crafted by city officials over the past three and a
half months with input from medical marijuana providers, police,
school officials and other stakeholders.

Under the proposal, it would be a misdemeanor for patients to smoke
medical marijuana in "an open or visible manner," City Attorney Greg
Sullivan said during a press conference Thursday afternoon. The
offense could result in a $500 fine and up to 6 months in jail.

"The reason behind that is to make sure that the line between what's
legal under state law and not legal under state law is kept as clear
as we can get it," he said.

It would be difficult for law enforcement to check medical marijuana
cards for everyone smoking marijuana in public, Sullivan said. And the
restriction helps address concerns in the community about how visually
prominent medical marijuana will become, he said.

The Bozeman City Commission will ultimately decide in a few weeks
whether the ordinance will stick, but overall, some local cannabis
providers say they're OK with the restrictions, including the
public-use ban.

"To me, that's understandable," said Robert Carpenter, president of A
Kinder Caregiver, Inc. "People don't walk down the streets popping
their prescription pills in their mouths. We don't need people walking
down the street with a big joint in their mouths acting like idiots."

Some cities, such as Great Falls, have adopted all-out bans of medical
marijuana shops.

"(Bozeman officials) worked with us," Carpenter said. "We came to
terms that I think everyone can live with."

16 licensed so far

As of the end of May, there were 497 medical marijuana providers, also
called caregivers, and 2,344 registered patients in Gallatin County.

In Bozeman, as of Wednesday, the city had approved 16 business
licenses for medical marijuana shops - 10 within city limits and six
outside, according to Brit Fontenot, assistant to the city manager.

Caregivers are required to have a city business license if they
deliver medical marijuana into the city, or do any business in the
city.

Four more license applications for shops - all within city limits -
are currently under review, Fontenot said.

The city issued its first license for a cannabis shop in September,
when the words "medical marijuana" couldn't be found in city code.
Since then, the applications have continued to roll in.

Montana voters passed an initiative legalizing marijuana for medical
use in 2004. But growers kept their operations out of sight until the
federal government announced in October that people following their
state's laws won't be prosecuted.

Zoning

The Bozeman City Commission in March approved an emergency, interim
zoning ordinance stipulating that stores selling medical marijuana
must be at least 1,000 feet away from schools and daycares.

The permanent ordinance proposal drops the daycare
requirement.

Sullivan said the city thought that would be too difficult to enforce
because it would be too hard to keep track of daycares' locations.

"Those things change all the time," he said.

The school-zone restriction remains, however, and city officials
spelled out a ban on medical marijuana shops on Main Street between
Grand and Rouse avenues.

The school and downtown restrictions come on top of existing zoning
requirements for businesses in Bozeman. Existing rules governing
medical offices are interpreted to prohibit medical marijuana shops
from operating in homes, Sullivan said.

Medical marijuana patients could still grow medical marijuana in their
own home - patients can legally grow up to six plants at their
residence - but caregivers could not operate out of neighborhoods,
Sullivan said. Providers can grow six plants for every patient they
have.

Growing medical marijuana is currently and would continue to be
allowed in areas zoned residential-suburban, where agricultural uses
are permitted.

Providers want rules

Carpenter and Blake Ogle, vice president of A Kinder Caregiver and
secretary of the Montana Medical Growers Association, said they
welcome the new rules.

Their storefront has been located in an office building in north
Bozeman on West Griffin Drive for two years and they said they have
more than 250 patients. They said they expect to be regulated just
like any other legitimate business.

"We have a complete open-door policy for law enforcement," Carpenter
said. "If they have any problems, they can always call us and we'll
let them right in."

The two grow the marijuana for their business outside of town and
inside the shop, there is no marijuana is visible. There are waiting
rooms with leather couches and a television for patients to watch
while they await their appointment.

Carpenter said patients get printed receipts and they keep records
with QuickBooks accounting software.

Patients have to have an appointment to be on the premises and they
must have scheduled it 24 hours ahead of time, he said. Patients also
are allowed to buy up to one ounce of marijuana per week.

"We're really trying to build a better, professional look to this,"
Carpenter said.

"We're not bad people," Ogle said. "We're out here offering an
alternative treatment to people who have not had much luck with the
treatment they've been under."

Ogle said their company has grown to include 22 employees and created
jobs.

Inspection

City officials are proposing to charge $100 for a business license for
medical marijuana business - made up of a $25 administrative fee and a
$75 inspection fee.

As a condition of the license, a city employee, including the city
code enforcement officer and police, would be allowed to inspect the
medical marijuana business without giving them prior notice.

Businesses where medical marijuana is stored or grown must be secured
by a physical barrier, locks and a 24-hour alarm system. And, all
marijuana must be kept in a security safe.

The city's building inspection department would also give the business
a once-over and to see if any changes to the structure comply with the
ordinance.

Public use

The ordinance is designed to keep the use of medical marijuana in the
privacy of people's homes, Sullivan said.

"The commission is going to have to look at that," Sullivan said.
"We'll put that in front of them and we'll see what they say."

The proposed ordinance states that public areas include "any highway,
road, driveway, alley, lane, parking area, sidewalk, park, trail, or
other public or private place within the city of Bozeman that is
adopted and fitted for the use of the public and that is in common use
by the public."

The proposed penalty, $500 in fines and up to 6 months in jail, is the
standard punishment for a misdemeanor, he said.

People will also not be allowed to smoke marijuana inside the shops,
as the city considers that a violation of the Montana Clean Indoor Air
Act, Sullivan said.

The Bozeman City Commission is scheduled to review the draft and
consider provisionally adopting it July 12. The ordinance could become
final as early as late August, or 30 days after it receives a second
review and final adoption from the commission.

The interim zoning ordinance the commission passed in March expires
Sept. 11.