SCHWEITZER VETOES BILL TO REPEAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA

HELENA -- Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Wednesday vetoed the bill that would
have repealed Montana's medical marijuana law, calling it draconian
and contrary to the will of the state voters who approved it in 2004.

Schweitzer pointed to the 2004 medical marijuana ballot initiative,
which 62 percent of Montana voters approved.

"There were many people out there who said there is a medicine out
there that is not currently legal," Schweitzer said at a veto ceremony
in the governor's reception room at the Capitol.

The medical marijuana bill was not among the bills the governor vetoed
at a public ceremony before a large crowd outside the Capitol, where
he used different-sized branding irons that said "VETO" to brand
planks of wood to signal some other vetoes.

In an interview afterward, Schweitzer added, "I'm not a doctor, but we
have heard from doctors and patients that this medicine helps them. Do
we need 28,000 (medical marijuana) patients? I doubt it."

Schweitzer did say he hopes he can support one of the two remaining
bills still alive -- Senate Bill 423 and SB193 -- to impose stricter
regulations on the medical marijuana industry.

"There are a couple of bills that are still alive that would limit the
number of patients, (they) would limit the number of caregivers,
(they) would take the profit motive out of medical cannabis and (they)
would make sure that it doesn't end up on our streets," he said.

Schweitzer's veto of House Bill 161, by House Speaker Mike Milburn,
R-Cascade, essentially kills the measure, which would have made
Montana the first of the 15 states and the District of Columbia
enacting medical marijuana laws to repeal it. Based on earlier House
and Senate votes, it appears unlikely that HB161 can muster the
two-thirds majorities in both chambers to override the governor's veto.

Milburn said he was disappointed but not surprised. He said he
believes a growing majority of Montanans support repealing the law.

"With all the problems we've seen in the schools and in the
communities, they're coming around more and more wanting just to get
rid of this, so I think it's too bad that the governor was not in tune
with what Montana wants, but it was expected," Milburn said.

Critics and even some supporters have said Montana's medical marijuana
industry has careened out of control since the Obama administration's
Justice Department announced in October 2009 that enforcement of
federal marijuana laws would not be a priority for users of medical
marijuana in states where it had been approved.

The number of medical marijuana cardholders in Montana went from 3,921
in September 2009 to 29,948 as of last month. Within the past year,
"cannabis caravans" went city to city to sign up hundreds of patients.
In some cases, people saw doctors for less than 10 minutes and
sometimes without seeing a doctor in person, but over the Internet.

Last month, federal and state law enforcement officials raided medical
pot growing operations in 13 communities as part of their
investigation into marijuana trafficking and distribution. No charges
have been filed.

One of the authors of the 2004 initiative, Tom Daubert of Patients and
Families United, praised Schweitzer's veto.

"Patients are very grateful for this veto, but deeply worried about
SB423, which we see as a 'repeal in disguise' and whose proponents
have made no secret of their goal to achieve a functional repeal," he
said. "Polls consistently show that Montanans want the medical
marijuana law fixed, with regulation that meets law enforcement and
community needs, while also serving patients, rather than arbitrarily
obstructing the fulfillment of this compassionate voter-adopted policy."

The main bill still in play is SB423, by Sen. Jeff Essmann,
R-Billings, which was rewritten by the House.

On Wednesday, Milburn and Senate President Jim Peterson, R-Buffalo,
appointed a House-Senate conference committee to work on the bill.

The House appointees are Reps. Tom Berry, R-Roundup; Cary Smith,
R-Billings; and Diane Sands, D-Missoula; Senate appointees are Sens.
Chas Vincent, R-Libby; Cliff Larsen, D-Missoula; and Essmann.

Milburn said he support SB423 as his second choice to repeal, if it's
tightened further.

He said he wants the specific medical conditions for which medical
marijuana can be recommended by a doctor to be detailed and restricted
in the bill. He also believes that allowing a provider to have up to
six marijuana plants to provide medical pot for a patient is excessive.

HB423 would impose new strict new controls aimed at limiting the
number of people eligible for medical marijuana cards. Backers have
said they want to cut the number of patients eligible for medical
cards to less than 2,000.

It attempts to squeeze all money from the system by banning growing
operations and dispensaries. It would allow one provider (the new term
for caregiver) to grow marijuana for one patient, and not vice versa,
but without any compensation. A provider could grow marijuana for up
to three people, but two would have to be relatives, and the grower
couldn't be paid for growing medical pot.

The other bill, SB193, by Sen. Gene Vuckovich, D-Anaconda, has yet to
pass in either house.

It seeks to impose restrictions on the medical marijuana industry, but
is being rewritten.