MEDICAL POT REFORM NECESSARY: VOTERS SHOULD NOT SUPPORT REPEAL OF NEW
MARIJUANA BILL

The new regulations concerning Montana's medical marijuana system are
far from perfect. They are, however, a marked improvement on the
medical marijuana law previously in place, which has been widely misused.

When Montanans voted for the Medical Marijuana Act in 2006, most of us
thought we were supporting the right of seriously, terminally ill
patients to access medication that would relieve painful conditions
and hopefully improve their quality of life.

But in the two years since the Obama administration announced that the
U.S. Justice Department would essentially ignore marijuana use by
patients approved in states that have approved medical marijuana, it
has ballooned into something much different. There are indeed
legitimate patients who are now able to use medical marijuana without
fear that state agents are going to break down the door. However, they
are overshadowed by the large number of medical marijuana card-holders
with minimal medical issues and profiteers who have sprung up to take
financial advantage of the lax rules.

Indeed, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services was
inundated with so-called "green card" applications. At last count,
more than 30,600 such cards had been issued.

Does anyone honestly believe that 1 in 33 Montanans has a debilitating
illness?

Unfortunately, if every one of these card-holders supports the
referendum now being circulated, the new regulations will be well on
their way to being repealed. And if roughly 50,000 signatures can be
collected, Senate Bill 423 will be canceled immediately.

SB423 is the bill sponsored by state Sen. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings,
that survived the 2011 legislative session to eventually land on the
Governor's desk, although it became law without the Governor's
signature. It would, among other things, more narrowly define who can
use and provide medical marijuana, create a registry for caregivers
and other medical marijuana providers, and require legislative monitoring.

SB423 will take effect on July 1 - unless opponents of the bill are
successful in their bid to round up signatures from at least 15
percent of the registered voters in a majority of legislative
districts. If they manage to collect only 5 percent of the signatures
in 34 legislative districts, the referendum will be put to a statewide
vote in 2012.

Given the apparent numbers of people who support marijuana use -
medical or not - this second scenario seems all but certain. Montanans
should expect to see a referendum to repeal SB423 on the 2012 ballot.

But Montana voters should not support this effort at repealing the new
reforms - not with our votes and not with our signatures. If anything,
more reforms are needed; but the next legislative session is almost
two years away.

We need better medical marijuana regulations than what we have right
now. And we need them in place right now.