MED-POT REPEAL DRAWS CROWD

HELENA -- Montana's medical marijuana law is flawed but repeal is not
the answer, according to most of those who testified Wednesday on the
Legislature's first bill to scrap the voter-approved act.

Supporters of repeal told members a House committee that voters today
want to scrap the law, but Ken Lindeman, a medical marijuana patient
and caregiver, cited the numbers of anti-repealers as his proof.

"If the voters didn't want (medical marijuana), then how come every
committee meeting we come in and outnumber them 3-to-1?" he asked.

At today's hearing, 86 signed up to speak against the bill and 28
registered as opponents.

Lindeman said the law obviously needs to be fixed, adding that those
legitimately using the drug and those who favor repeal have a shared
enemy in those abusing the law.

Bozeman Mayor Jeff Krauss called for the state to follow his city's
model for regulation and reminded lawmakers that people are always
turning to the government to take away their fears.

"I think you can make this work if you take the time to do it," Krauss
said. "Don't just close your minds and call for prohibition."

But House Speaker Mike Milburn, R-Cascade and the sponsor of House
Bill 161, disagreed, saying the only answer was to shut the system
down. He compared the recent explosion of the medical marijuana
industry to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.

"We're not talking about the dikes holding back the water anymore,"
Milburn said. "We're talking about how do you rebuild the city?"

Both he and others hinted at returning to the idea of medical
marijuana after a repeal and at the possibility of another law, but
offered no specifics.

Mark Long, chief of the Montana Narcotics Bureau with the Department
of Justice, said repeal was the only way to go.

He said the amount of marijuana being produced in the state far
exceeds the amount patients can use, making it a prime choice for
smugglers. He added that a colleague in North Dakota called Montana a
"source country" for the drug, likening the state to Mexico or Colombia.

Long also said the loose regulations surrounding medical marijuana
attract criminals looking to set up shop and ship out-of-state under
the guise of being caregivers. He joked that the same colleague who
blamed Montana for exporting marijuana also thanked him for taking
criminals in.

As with all of the medical marijuana legislation that has come before
the 2011 session, patients said they are caught between a burgeoning
industry and a worried public.

Kai Weber, a University of Montana student who treats her chronic pain
with marijuana, addressed the committee from a wheelchair. She said
she hopes to attend law school and that medical marijuana has kept her
in school and out of the hospital this year.

"If this repeal passes," Weber said, "you not only take away my access
to a wonderful medicine, you take away my hopes and dreams for the
future."