MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES PROTEST REFORM BILL

Medical marijuana advocates marched down Bozeman's Main Street on
Friday accompanied by draft horses pulling trailers stacked with
makeshift coffins.

Protestors painted plywood to look like roughly 300 coffins on the
back of two trailers.

That's the number of people who die each year in Montana from
prescription drug overdoses, organizers of the rally said.

They argued that if the medical marijuana reform bill approved by the
state Legislature becomes law, the number of deaths would increase
because patients who use cannabis will instead have to take more
dangerous prescription drugs.

"The government has said, 'Let's get rid of all the people who use
medical marijuana for pain and lets put them on narcotics,'" said
Anthony Smith, a Belgrade provider who organized Friday's
demonstration.

State legislators have said people don't need cannabis because they
have access to prescription drugs, Smith said.

"They're ignoring the fact that prescription drugs are killing people
and that marijuana is safer," he said.

Senate Bill 423 is expected to effectively bring an end to the state's
medical marijuana industry. The bill prohibits caregivers from serving
more than three patients and bars people from accepting money for
medical marijuana. The law takes effect July 1.

About 30 people took part in Friday's protest, which ran east down
Main Street, from KO's Club to the Gallatin County Courthouse steps,
at around noon.

Demonstrators held signs including "Plants not pills," "Marijuana:
the responsible choice," "What's next? Free Vicodin?" and "Man made
beer. God made weed. Who do you trust?" They walked on the sidewalk
while the horses and trailers accompanied them on the road.

They carried funeral flower bouquets and waved American
flags.

They shouted "Veto 423. Honk if you agree" over megaphones, and
passing motorists obliged.

Heidi Hanford, a provider from Lincoln and founder of a new medical
marijuana magazine, carried a sign that quoted Gov. Brian Schweitzer.

"It's a dumb law, but I'm going to let it pass anyway," the sign
read.

Schweitzer has said he will neither sign nor veto SB 423, allowing it
to become law. While he was critical of the reform, he said he cannot
allow the Montana's current medical marijuana law - which has allowed
marijuana businesses to flourish and the number of marijuana patients
in Montana to balloon beyond 30,000 people - to continue.

Medical marijuana advocates are trying to get a referendum on the
ballot to overturn SB 423.

Jim Gingery, executive director of the Montana Medical Growers
Association, told protestors gathered on the courthouse lawn that
petition language has been submitted to the Secretary of State's
Office for approval, which can take up to six weeks. He encouraged
supporters to register to vote and make sure their address is recorded
correctly so they will be eligible to sign the petition when it's ready.

"I think our Legislature is going to be very surprised about how wrong
they were about the intent of the voter," Gingery said.