POT-PLANT PURGATORY FOUND IN MONTANA

The State of Montana is frantically backpedaling six years after
voters passed Medical Marijuana Initiative 148. One of 10 states now
with medical marijuana programs, Montana has fallen into what might
be called pot-plant purgatory as it struggles with blurry laws and
even blurrier implementation plans, stalling what might well become a
legitimate and major homegrown industry.

In this economy, it's encouraging to witness any business spring up
so quickly from a tiny seed. For marijuana outlet stores, business is
flourishing, though some residents have become alarmed. Towns like
Lewistown, Kalispell, Great Falls, Montana City, Belgrade, Havre and
Billings are suffering runaway growth in dispensaries and have passed
moratoria limiting new establishments.

It's as if toddlers dumped sugar cubes on an anthill while state
officials, legal pot users, caregivers and law-enforcement officers
all scurry about trying to figure out where the boundaries are.

The biggest loophole in Montana's medical marijuana law allows
non-residents to obtain legal authorization to use medicinal cannabis
in the state. Such permissiveness contributed to over 23,500
registered patients by the end of July. And was this large group
mostly older and infirm? Not a chance - more than 25 percent were
between the ages of 21 and 30.

The Montana Legislature will attempt to better define the state's
marijuana regulatory scheme when it convenes in January 2011. It
might also look south for help. In June, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter
signed two bills into law instituting complicated licensing
requirements on dispensaries and cracking down on unscrupulous
doctors handing out marijuana prescriptions like lollypops.

Meanwhile, opening the pot-filled Pandora's box has already resulted
in an outbreak of drug-related arrests. One of the more interesting
occurred earlier this year in Missoula, where a man was arrested for
growing nearly 100 marijuana plants in a labyrinth of hand-dug grow
rooms under his house. The marijuana plants, flourishing under
artificial lighting, had become four-foot giants. In the garage were
pickaxes, shovels, a cement mixer and glass jars filled with
marijuana. On a table was a stack of business cards promoting
"Organic Goodness."

The Missoula entrepreneur, who was a registered medical marijuana
patient, apparently got carried away and far exceeded his quota. Yet
once those cute seedlings break through the soil, who can resist
cultivating more? Remember planting a bean in a Dixie cup back in
third grade? You'd check the windowsill everyday until a green shoot
appeared, releasing the overwhelming joy that all gardeners feel.
Deep inside, we're all horticulturists.

The underground grower exhibited some admirable traits:

. He was hardworking - digging out a crawlspace isn't easy, because
your head's always banging into floor joists.

. He was industrious - all those supplies like potting soil, seeds,
grow lights, electrical wires and business cards point to a stellar
retail plan.

. He was competent - with four-foot high plants, this guy knows fertilizers.

. He showed foresight. A cement mixer and extra jars means he was
ready for a teeming business.

Some potential medical pot users find themselves in a quandary. They
pose questions like these on the state website: "I don't have the
money for the registration fee. Can I make installments?" Times are
tight, but we're talking a measly $25 fee here.

Or, "Where do I get seeds? Where do I get plants? Where do I get a
bag of medical marijuana?" No doubt an only child. Or, "Do I need to
tell my employer and does he have to accommodate the use of medical
marijuana while I'm at work?" One can only hope this person does not
drive a truck carrying nuclear waste.

Can Montana's MM program survive the political climate changes that
lie ahead? Many chronic pain sufferers hope so; scientific evidence
indicates that the active ingredients in marijuana can relieve
symptoms from illnesses such as multiple sclerosis, cancer and AIDS.
They're willing to overlook negative side effects including possible
lung damage, potentially impaired short-term cognitive ability and "a
motivational syndrome," a condition defined basically as the loss of
get up and go.

But long-term help for Montana, as well as other states, can only
come if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gets into the business
by regulating marijuana's active ingredients. What we need is the
definition of a legal drug that meets accepted standards for drug
purity and potency and clear rules about who gets to grow, sell and
consume marijuana.

What we now have is a crapshoot, with vague laws creating legal
loopholes big enough for illegitimate pot users and growers to capitalize on.