TIME TO CONSIDER REPEAL

With this legislative session approaching its midpoint, I am beginning
to receive more and more questions from concerned Montanans about how
lawmakers plan on solving the growing medical marijuana problem in our
state. As chair of the House committee that has overseen the bulk of
medical marijuana bills this session, I have heard arguments from
those who use it, those who abuse it and those who are most affected
by it. After hours of testimony, one thing has become clear. Medical
marijuana has become a billion-dollar industry that Montana can ill
afford.

Our state currently has 28,362 medical marijuana users; a figure which
has grown by more than one thousand in the last month alone. Of those,
less than 2 percent are over the age of 70 with the largest
demographic falling between the ages of 21-30. Three-quarters of these
individuals were issued cards for "severe or chronic" pain. When I-148
passed in 2004, it provided for the limited use of medical marijuana
under close medical supervision by those with debilitating conditions.
There can be no question that voters who supported legalizing medical
marijuana were grossly misled by out-of-state special interests.

During a recent public hearing in my committee, one caregiver
testified that in order to supply 6,000 patients with medical
marijuana, the network he represented was legally allowed to possess
up to six plants and 1 ounce of marijuana per patient. If a fully
grown plant is capable of producing 21 ounces of marijuana per year,
this means a caregiver can produce upwards of 126 ounces of marijuana
per patient.

By comparison, a typical marijuana cigarette or joint has less than
half a gram of marijuana and produces an effect that lasts a minimum
of 2-4 hours. If an individual were to smoke six joints every day,
they would consume less than 40 ounces of marijuana over the course of
an entire year. This leaves 86 ounces of an unused drug that is
currently valued at $225 per ounce. Taken as a whole, this translates
to $540 million worth of excess and unaccounted for marijuana.

Testimony from local educators confirms that the illegal use of
medical marijuana has begun to infiltrate our school system. Drug
dispensaries are popping up next to schools while students with cards
are selling marijuana to peers. Meanwhile, teachers from across the
state are noticing an increase in the rate of dropouts of kids whose
parents abuse medical marijuana.

Law enforcement officials are also struggling to combat the problems
associated with the "legal" use of medical marijuana. On multiple
occasions, caregivers have been caught attempting to sell the drug to
undercover agents and falsifying card applications for patients that
failed medical screenings. These problems are only compounded by the
fact that nearly one out of every 10 Montanans on parole or probation
currently carries a green card. During one hearing, a narcotics
officer stated that the market has become so oversaturated with the
drug that DEA has labeled Montana a "source country" for the illegal
distribution and trafficking of marijuana outside the state.

There is no question that the use of medical marijuana in this state
is being abused by those with recreational, profit-driven and even
criminal motives. Unfortunately, they have done so at the expense of
those with debilitating medical conditions. As legislators, we did not
have a say in bringing this drug to Montana but as citizens, we have a
chance to prevent its proliferation from spiraling out of control. It
is high time legislators start seriously considering whether a full
repeal of this dangerous drug is in the best interests of the
communities we were elected to represent.