REIN IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA TO A MANAGEABLE LEVEL

The Montana Medical Marijuana law has, by all accounts, spun out of
control. Nearly everyone agrees the current system is unacceptable,
with storefront pot shops, large grow operations and advertising by
unscrupulous doctors eager to diagnose maladies that result in the
coveted "green card." As a result, a controversial bill to repeal the
act was passed by the Legislature and sent to the governor's desk.

Before heading to Helena, people said to sift through the myths and
propaganda and listen to the people. Some were concerned that
legislators may try to impose their own values on the rest of the
legislative body.

When I (Hutton) moved into my office in the "bullpen," I determined
that I would be a statesman, not a politician.

Many are concerned with the legality of repealing a citizens'
initiative, and the governor has vetoed the repeal bill on the grounds
that it both "violated the will of voters," and is "unconstitutional."
The Constitution does not prohibit such repeal, and the same
Constitution gives both voters and the Legislature the power to enact
statutory law regulating the same topic.

One can conclude that the Legislature may repeal a statute passed by
the voters, but should only do so when an emergency rises. We believe
that the current marijuana situation is such an emergency.

Montana's cardholder rate is growing at a pace of 1,000 per month with
nearly 30,000 total. Students have said that in schools, marijuana has
become so commonplace that people don't ask, "Hi, how are you?" but
"How high are you?"

Many people and organizations, including numerous employers and the
Sheriff's Association, testified in favor of repeal. The Army National
Guard disclosed that it was terminating employment at a rate three
times the normal rate due to positive drug testing for marijuana. A
local grain elevator operator told one committee that at a recently
held job fair, not one person passed the drug test. If our message is
to grow jobs and the economy, we cannot stand behind a drug so
counterproductive to safety and employment.

Since our priority is to grow jobs, the real issue is respect for the
rule of law. The Federal Controlled Substances Act absolutely
prohibits possessing, growing, distributing or selling marijuana under
any circumstance, whether a state has authorized "medical" marijuana
or not. No peer-reviewed scientific literature supports the
proposition that medical marijuana cures anything.

Repeal would have taken us back to a system that lets the Food and
Drug Administration do its job and adopt drugs that have proven their
benefits with trials and good science. While some people undoubtedly
receive a palliative effect from the use of marijuana, that effect is
far outweighed by the effect on society as a whole.

Since the repeal effort was vetoed by the governor, we're awaiting
action on a bill that would strictly regulate marijuana to reduce the
abuse and corruption in schools and communities. The status quo will
not do; the issue must be addressed this session.