PANEL HASHES OUT REWRITE OF MEDICAL-MARIJUANA REGULATIONS IN MONTANA

HELENA - A legislative panel on Monday hashed out a draft rewrite of
Montana's medical-marijuana laws that would tighten regulations on
who can grow, distribute and use the drug.

But, even if the bipartisan committee ends up agreeing on the draft
bill, lawmakers said it would be just one step in a lengthy process,
and that many more proposals are likely to come before the 2011
Legislature in response to the dramatic growth of medical-marijuana
businesses and users.

Rep. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, who chairs the Children, Families,
Health and Human Services Interim Committee, said she expects bills
to be introduced next year to repeal medical marijuana, put it back
before the voters again or, perhaps, legalize the drug entirely and
"tax the heck out it."

"Hopefully, this will be the bill that's somewhere in the middle,"
she said of the measure discussed Monday by the committee.

The eight-member, bipartisan panel is expected to vote on Tuesday
whether to draft a bill that tightens many aspects of Montana's
medical-marijuana program, which was placed into law by voters in 2004.

The draft bill would require medical-marijuana users to be Montana
residents; require fingerprinting, background checks and licensing
for marijuana suppliers; and make it harder to get a marijuana card
for treatment of "chronic pain."

At Monday's meeting, medical-marijuana users and businesspeople
objected to many aspects of the proposal, saying it shouldn't unduly
restrict what's become a legitimate business and health tool for many
Montanans.

"It sounds so many times . that we're looking for ways to box this in
completely and make it go away," said Rick Rosio of Montana Pain
Management in Missoula. "Why not fix it in a common-sense
application? Please keep the patients first in mind."

Those in favor, however, said the draft puts some needed limits on
what many see as a wide-open program that's made it hard for law
enforcement to know who's breaking the law and who's not.

"We think it addresses the law-enforcement concerns; we think it's a
good bill," said Mike Batista, head of the Division of Criminal
Investigation at the Department of Justice.

"We really think that this bill represents what the voters thought
they were voting for when they passed the initiative."

The number of Montanans holding medical-marijuana cards has more than
tripled since January, from about 7,300 people to 22,740 as of Monday.

The committee began work on the rewrite this year in response to the
rapidly escalating numbers of people obtaining medical-marijuana
cards and an accompanying boom in marijuana-related suppliers.

Any draft bill endorsed by the panel would be introduced at the 2011
Legislature, which convenes next January, but wouldn't become law
without legislative approval and the signature of the governor.

"This bill is going to be changed a lot before it passes the next
session," said Rep. Gary MacLaren, R-Victor, and a member of the committee.

Several marijuana users and businesspeople who testified Monday
objected to requiring two physicians to approve marijuana use for
treatment of chronic pain, saying it's difficult enough finding one
doctor who may recommend marijuana, especially in rural areas.

"If you require me to go to two doctors, where's the second doctor?"
asked Brad Comer of Ennis, a marijuana patient and provider. "Where's
the pain specialist I can go to, to sign my second slip?"

They also said limits on the number of patients whom a business can
serve or on the amount of marijuana that a patient can have in a
month's time could harm both the businesses and patients.

"I have clients that need much more than two ounces a month," said
Charlton Campbell of Montana Buds, which operates in Butte and Bozeman.

"They're in pain. . I'm not about to tell them, 'No, you can't have
this, this is my limit. .

"The state hasn't had the opportunity to see the huge benefits of
persons like myself, running this as a small business, giving us the
opportunity to employ people, to add to the tax revenues. . Support
the people who are doing this."