TALK OF THE TOWN: HELENA ABUZZ WITH WAYS TO REFORM MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW

During the 2009 legislative session, medical marijuana advocates
rallied in Capitol rotunda and brought some very fragrant marijuana for show.

Lawmakers from both parties -- some curious, some bemused - strolled
about the event, then went back to their business -- business that,
for the most part, had nothing to do with medical marijuana.

That's all over now. With the next session just months away,
lawmakers are readying for a battle over the future of medical
marijuana in Montana, spurred on by an explosion in the number of
patients in the state.

At least two Republican legislators are planning to introduce bills
in the 2011 Legislature -- which begins in January - to repeal the
law all together.

Another Republican is preparing a bill that would change how medical
marijuana is distributed in the state. And a bipartisan panel meeting
now hopes to introduce a sweeping measure that could affect
everything from where pot can be distributed to the medical scrutiny
people seeking medical marijuana face.

"Most of us (lawmakers) are highly suspicious that a bunch of
20-year-olds are in serious need of medical marijuana because of
chronic pain," said Rep. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, who sits on the
subcommittee crafting the reform bill.

State data shows that more 21- to 30-year-olds hold medical marijuana
cards than any other age group in Montana, and that the vast majority
- - 13,291 -- of the approximately 20,000 medical marijuana patients in
the state cite "chronic or severe pain" as the reason they need the drug.

"People are really offended by the number of people who are abusing
it when people who voted for it thought they were being compassionate
toward people who are ill," said Sen. Trudi Schmidt, D-Great Falls,
who also sits on the panel crafting a bill for the upcoming session.

The bill Sands, Schmidt and others are working on has yet to take
form, but lawmakers are investigating: how the state can make sure
only patients are smoking legally grown pot; how to ensure patients
are truly in need of marijuana; and how to make it easier for police
to enforce marijuana laws.

An emerging idea is to contract with a single, private company to
provide all medical marijuana in the state, instead of allowing every
patient to grow his own or buy it from an assigned provider.

"What we're going to try to do is get rid of the pot shop on every
corner," said panel member Rep. Penny Morgan, R-Billings.

Sands said the panel is considering a provision that would require
those claiming chronic pain to consult with a pain specialist before
getting a so-called "green card," and increased fees on patients and
caregivers "to cover the costs of regulating medical marijuana."

"It has to bear its own costs," she said.

And, lawmakers want to make it easier for police to distinguish
between legal and illegal pot, Sands said, in part by requiring
patients to carry their card if they have marijuana.

"If you get pulled over and you have marijuana, you need to have a
card and have a card with you," she said.

Meanwhile, there is a growing movement to repeal the medical
marijuana law. This spring, the Montana GOP added to its platform the
belief that the law should either be "amended or repealed," with
several Republican lawmakers putting forward repeal bills (the
Democratic platform does not address medical marijuana.)

"The people who have contacted me, who voted for this, say this is
not what they had in mind," said Rep. Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, who is
working on a bill to repeal the law. "They were overwhelmingly
supportive of rescinding the law and starting over."

Starting over, Milburn said, means passing another law - maybe in the
upcoming session, maybe not - "If we decide we want something in the future."

Sands, for one, said she doesn't "hear a lot of interest in repealing the law."

"It's my hope something will pass that will keep medical marijuana
legal and control its use for various conditions," she said.

And, she said, Montanans need to put medical marijuana into some perspective.

"The most serious problems out there are alcohol abuse and
prescription drug abuse. Those are out there killing people," she
said. "Medical marijuana is the new issue on the block and we will be
addressing it. But we will also be addressing those other things.
Let's get a little perspective."