LEGAL LIMBO STILL AHEAD FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY

Nearly two months after a district judge ruled that medical marijuana
could be sold in Montana, at least a few local businesses that had
closed are reopening their doors -- taking another chance on an
industry deemed illegal under federal law.

Caregivers opening and closing their shops is just one sign of the
uncertainty as to medical marijuana's legality in Montana, an issue
that continues to be in limbo.

"This issue is not going to be settled for some time," said Kate
Cholewa, a spokeswoman for the Montana Cannabis Industry Association.
"I wouldn't expect anything final for a long time."

A law was scheduled to go into effect July 1 that would have
essentially put an end to the medical marijuana industry, particularly
by barring caregivers from accepting money for the product.

The cannabis association and others filed a lawsuit to overturn that
law and sought an injunction to temporarily keep it from going into
effect while litigation was ongoing.

So, on June 30, Lewis and Clark County District Judge James P.
Reynolds temporarily blocked parts of the law, including those that
would've put an end to medical marijuana sales.

Now, medical marijuana businesses are opening again. But whether that
will be the case, long-term, is still uncertain.

The lawsuit claiming that the medical marijuana litigation violates
constitutional rights still has to be settled, and the case is already
being delayed by two appeals. The state filed one appeal Aug. 9,
because, as Assistant Attorney General Jim Molloy said in a prepared
statement, "We are concerned about the implications of a legal
determination that the Montana Constitution protects the right to sell
marijuana for a profit."

And on Aug. 15, the Bozeman-based law firm Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin,
which represents the cannabis association and others, filed another
appeal. Devlan Geddes, an attorney at the firm, said its appeal will
focus on two parts of the law that the judge did not block.

After both appeals are settled, Geddes said the cannabis association,
other plaintiffs and the state will resume work to reach a settlement
on the lawsuit.

A new ballot issue committee, Patients for Reform - Not Repeal, is
also working to gain enough signatures to put Senate Bill 423, the
medical marijuana legislation, on the ballot in November 2012. If they
succeed, voters would decide whether to enact the law.

Rose Habib, a statewide volunteer coordinator for the committee, said
it needs 24,337 registered voters to sign the petition. Already, it
has 24,000 signatures, and 18,000 have been turned into counties.

The group aims to collect 40,000 signatures, however, to make sure it
has enough that are valid. The signatures must represent 5 percent of
qualified voters across the state, including 5 percent from 34 of the
state's house districts.

The deadline for collecting the signatures is Sept.
30.

Habib said the Billings area is leading the state in the number of
signatures gathered. Gallatin County, she said, is second.

"There are some really good signature-gatherers there," she said.
"They are very persistent and consistent in their work."

Sen. Jeff Essman, R-Billings, who sponsored Senate Bill 423, said he
wasn't surprised his city was in the lead for signatures.

"Billings is the largest community in the state," he said.