SENATE REPEALS MED MARIJUANA

The state Senate Friday afternoon approved, 28-22, repealing laws
allowing medical marijuana, just hours after the House unanimously
OK'd considering reforming the issue instead.

The repeal bill, sponsored by House Speaker Mike Milburn, R-Cascade,
eliminates allowing prescription of marijuana for specific medical
conditions.

Montana voters approved medical marijuana in a ballot initiative in
2004.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer had not yet taken action on Milburn's bill,
House Bill 161, as of this morning.

Earlier Friday morning the House, 100-0, approved suspending
procedures to allow that chamber to consider a bill from the Senate
reforming the medical marijuana laws. That bill, Senate Bill 423,
passed the Senate but did not receive a two-thirds majority needed to
transfer it to the House in suspension of rules.

Milburne told the Havre Daily News this morning that because of
uncertainty of what Schweitzer will do with his bill, the House needed
to take action to prevent what could be "a much bigger mess than what
we are in already."

He added that the Senate had not been able to transmit the bill,
requiring the super-majority vote, "due to the Democrats playing games
and an attempt at political maneuvering. This left the Republican
majority with limited options, " he said.

Rep. Wendy Warburton, R-Havre, a majority whip in the House, said the
House Republicans approved bringing the bill over to keep their
options open.

"We don't know for sure whether or not the governor will veto HB 161
or amend it in a way that is not amenable to the members of the
Legislature," she said Friday. "By accepting SB 423 from the Senate,
we have the opportunity to craft legislation that reins in medical
marijuana in a way that we can support, in a manner that better
matches what the voters intended when they sign the initiative.

Milburne's bill passed the House on a 62-37 vote, but failed to pass
out of Senate committee on a 6-6 vote on March 14. Votes to blast it
out to the floor on March 26 failed in 24-24 and 23-25 votes.

It was taken from committee in a floor vote Wednesday on a 26-24
vote.

Rep. Bryce Bennet, D-Missoula, said Friday that both Republicans and
Democrats in the House wanted to keep the option open to continue the
debate on medical marijuana, and SB 423 was the only option with which
to do that.

He said that, as the Legislature can't both reform and repeal medical
marijuana, the next step is up to Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

"A lot will be resting on the governor as he receives HB 161 on his
desk tomorrow and what we can accomplish on SB 423 in the House,"
Bennet said.

But Havre's Republican Rep. Kris Hansen said Friday she voted to bring
over the Senate bill with reservations, to keep options open.

"Personally, however, I would have preferred that we simply forced the
governor to approve the repeal or veto it," Hansen said. "I would like
to think he would have approved it because of the seriousness of the
issue.

"We need to repeal it and start over if the people want to do that,"
Hansen added.

Milburne also said the Republicans in the House did not necessarily
want to work with SB 423, but needed the option.

"It will be amended in committee and from there I don't know where it
will go, " he said. "It will depend on what the majority of the
committee and then the rest of the legislature wants.