MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE READ IN SIDNEY

Sidney City Council members are considering ordinances that ban public
consumption of medical marijuana and provide operating guidelines for
commercial businesses.

Ordinances 512 and 513 passed first readings during the March 21
council meeting. The ordinances were drafted in response to a
significant rise in the number of medical marijuana patient
cardholders statewide.

Ordinance 513, much like open container/public drinking laws, states
there is a "legitimate governmental interest" in prohibiting smoking
marijuana openly "because the inadvertent direct and indirect exposure
to marijuana has the potential to significantly affect the health,
legal and financial interests of the citizens of Sidney." Smoking it
openly also has "the potential to lead to an increase in the use of
illegal marijuana."

The ordinance claims that prohibiting public display, consumption or
smoking of marijuana is "vital to maintaining a community that is free
from the negative effect of the illegal use of drugs..." But it also
recognizes using medical marijuana in one's private residence or on
private property "outside of public view" is legal under state law.

Violators would draw a misdemeanor charge with a fine of $500 at most
or six months jail at most.

Ordinance 512 requires businesses dealing with medical marijuana be
located more than 1,000 feet from schools so that "children [will] not
be inadvertently exposed to a substance which is, for other than its
use in limited circumstances, illegal." It gives businesses that do
not follow the guidelines have six months to bring their operations up
to code.

The ordinances follow an ordinance adopted by the city of Bozeman in
August 2010, which also banned public medical marijuana use. The
Medical Marijuana Act, passed in 2004 by state voters, makes it legal
to use marijuana for medical purposes for those who are cardholders.
In March 2008, there were fewer than 1,000 registered patients and
just 233 caregivers. Three years later, that number jumped to 28,618
cardholders and 4,833 caregivers.

Richland County's numbers reflect the jump in numbers as well, though
not as dramatic. According to statistics provided by the Montana
Department of Public Health and Human Services, in January 2010, there
were 15 medical marijuana cardholders in Richland County and three
caregivers. Fast forward to the beginning of March and the county has
148 registered cardholders and 11 caregivers.

City attorney Gerald Navratil said implementing the ordinances was
necessary while state legislators decide what to do about the state
initiative. "I brought it up as something that seems neceseary for the
community as a means of regulating and controlling."

Navratil said about the public consumption ordinance. He added that
with state legislators still discussing what to do with the law (most
likely impede strict regulations on medical marijuana cardholder
conditions) and a possible repeal by the governor, it "seemed best to
take some pre-emptive action."

Sidney Police Chief Frank DiFonzo said enforcing the public
consumption ordinance resembles the open container law in that law
enforcement have to be at the right place at the right time. And
although it isn't anymore useful in controlling public consumption, it
will keep medical marijuana users from using it in public spaces, such
as parks. "We don't want them lighting up joints in public," he said.

A second reading will take place during the next council meeting on
Monday.