MONTANA HOUSE AGAIN APPROVES REPEAL OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW

HELENA - On a mostly party-line vote with Republicans in favor, the
Montana House voted again Saturday to repeal Montana's medical
marijuana law, after a House panel examined the measure's fiscal impacts.

House Bill 161, by Speaker Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, now faces a final
House vote, probably on Monday, before heading to the Senate.

The House voted 63-37 to pass HB161, with all those in favor
Republicans. All 32 House Democrats and five Republicans voted against it.

By the same tally, the House voted Feb. 10 to approve HB161, but the
bill then was sent to the House Appropriations Committee to review
its financial impact. The panel sent the bill back to the House for
another vote.

The debate Saturday was brief, with only Milburn and Rep. Diane
Sands, D-Missoula, speaking, and they confined their remarks to a few
sentences.

Milburn said the repeal bill has drawn interest from around the
nation and all over the world.

He said he's been interviewed by a Swedish radio host who told him
that Sweden is now advocating a drug-free society.

In a later interview, Milburn said later the radio host, who is a
special adviser to the World Federation Against Drugs, told him it
would be political suicide in Sweden if anyone there ran for office
supporting legalization of medical marijuana.

Sands told the House that nearly two-thirds of Montana voters
approved the initiative in 2004 to legalize medical marijuana. She
said they voted to authorize the use of medical marijuana for a
limited number of people.

"We all know that we have failed in our responsibilities as a
Legislature to put appropriate sideboards and regulations around this
industry," said Sands, who is sponsoring a bill on behalf of an
interim legislative committee to put in a state licensing and
regulatory system.

Milburn said afterward he's been getting a lot of positive reaction
to the repeal bill from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

"I think now that we're taking it seriously, they are on board," he said.

Milburn said he's unsure of what the bill's chances are in the Senate.

"I think the chance of passing it over there look better than it was
the first of the session," he said. "I think the past couple of
months, we and they are seeing the problems. There's a lot of
momentum building."

Republicans who voted against HB161 were Reps. Steve Gibson of
Helena, Austin Knudsen of Culbertson, Mike Miller of Helmville, Jerry
O'Neil of Columbia Falls and Sterling Small of Busby.