PUBLIC POT USE SHOULD BE BANNED

Recently, the city of Belgrade imposed a ban on commercial
medical-marijuana businesses, meaning only those that had applied for
licenses before a March moratorium could operate here.

The ban means that commercial growers and dispensaries can't set up
shop in Belgrade, save for the four or five that were already licensed
to do so. The ban does not extend to registered medical-marijuana
users, who can grow up to six plants in their own homes for their own
use.

And the ban doesn't cover medical-marijuana users walking the streets
of Belgrade while smoking pot. Since the voters of Montana made
medical marijuana legal in 2004, users of the drug have been free to
use their medicine when and where they see fit, within the confines of
existing laws.

Now, the city of Belgrade is drafting an ordinance to restrict the
public use of marijuana. Unlike the ban on commercial growers, a
public-use rule is a good idea.

Jason Crist, head of the Missoula-based Montana Caregivers Network,
might disagree. This is the man who smoked pot on the steps of the
state Capitol, and who publicly advocates for the public use of the
drug. His argument is simple: We don't tell prescription drug users
where they can or can't use their medicine and shouldn't restrict
medical-marijuana patients' rights to do the same.

But medical marijuana isn't the same as traditional prescription
medication, which isn't designed to be smoked. Those who smoke pot for
medicinal purposes need to do so in the privacy of their homes, not
out in public, where it can interfere with the clean air the rest of
us enjoy.

A ban will help law enforcement officers, who currently have no
authority to stop licensed medical-marijuana users from smoking the
drug in public. Belgrade is on the right track with a proposal to
restrict public use of marijuana, and we hope the ordinance will sail
through to approval without too much rigamarole. It's the right thing
to do.