UPDATE 2011: MONTANA MEDICAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY ON WANE

One of the fastest-growing segments of Missoula's business community
did an abrupt about-face in 2011.

The city now has significantly fewer medical marijuana businesses
than it did at the beginning of the year, 38 compared to 63,
according to the city of Missoula's Business Licensing Office.

State Sen. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings, who successfully sponsored a law
to restrict such businesses, said he'd love to take credit for the
change in landscape.

But, he said, "I think it's largely due to federal law enforcement."

In March and November, federal agents raided medical marijuana
businesses around the state, including in Missoula and the Flathead.
Despite Montana's voter-approved legalization of the medical use of
cannabis, marijuana is still illegal under federal law. Some of those
targeted by the raids already have pleaded guilty to federal drug
charges whose penalties carry stiff prison sentences and hefty fines.

"I think the threat of significant jail time brought a sense of
reality to a lot of people who were engaged in the operation," Essmann said.

One person's reality is another's fear.

The highly publicized raids had a chilling effect on medical
marijuana businesses and their clients, said John Masterson, who
heads Montana's chapter of the National Organization for the Reform
of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

"We've got entrepreneurs who were, by all accounts I'm aware of,
complying with state law. They just were successful business people
who were raided by, basically, federal law enforcement soldiers in
body armor with gas masks and submachine guns," he said. "Many or
maybe all who were raided were acting in good faith and believed they
were in compliance with state law."

That fear also applies not only to entrepreneurs but to consumers as
well, he said. The number of people with state-approved medical
marijuana cards dropped from a high of 30,036 in June to 10,236 last
month - just about where it was 18 months ago.

The number of providers plummeted even more sharply, from a high of
4,848 in March to 383 last month.

That's a lightning-fast turnaround from the days when it seemed as
though another medical marijuana business opened weekly in Missoula,
and the number of cardholders rose by more than 1,000 people each month.

"I've talked to a lot of voters in my district who were OK with
looking the other way if it helped an elderly person with a severe
terminal situation," Essmann said. "But they were not happy with the
situation as it had developed."

Even the most ardent supporters of medical cannabis had problems with
some of that growth.

"At this time last year, just prior to the Legislature convening,
there were many of us in the movement who were concerned with some of
the brash and insensitive and arguably inappropriate commercial
activities by some operators," Masterson said. "Our Montana culture
was not ready to so suddenly have billboards and signage, and that
provoked a response."

He didn't mention anyone by name but one Missoula resident, Jason
Christ, became infamous for Internet "tele-clinics" and traveling
"cannabis caravans" where physicians provided medical marijuana
recommendations for hundreds of people in a few hours.

Although Christ's business continued staging one-day clinics around
the state, he closed his prominent location at Orange and Front
streets months ago and, more recently, some of his websites have
vanished from the Internet. These days, Christ is embroiled in a
series of lawsuits and countersuits - mostly with former business
associates - and is scheduled to go to trial in April in a felony
intimidation case.

Among the suits filed by Christ, acting as his own attorney, is one
challenging the new law as unconstitutional.

Months ago, the Montana Cannabis Industry Association - which formed
in response to the new law - filed its own legal challenge, resulting
in an injunction on some of its most stringent provisions.

The state has appealed part of that ruling and the Cannabis Industry
Association said it will counter that appeal.

Opponents of the new law also have collected enough signatures to
place a repeal of Essmann's measure on the 2012 ballot.

"I'm optimistic that the attempt to repeal what the Legislature did
will fail," said Essmann, citing a Montana State University-Billings
poll released in October that showed 62 percent of those queried
supported his measure's restrictions.

"I don't think most Montanans want to return to the Wild West
situation," he said. "I know that the people in my home community are
happy that the storefronts are no longer present and the billboards
are not actively promoting the product and sending messages to the
youth of the community."

These days, Essmann is busier with his campaign for the GOP's
gubernatorial nomination than medical marijuana questions. Despite
the issue's high profile - medical marijuana was named the No. 1 news
story of 2011 by the Associated Press' annual member poll - Essmann
said it rarely arises on the campaign trail.

"Issue No. 1 will be the economy and jobs," he said. "Issue No. 2
will be the economy and jobs. Issue No. 3 will be the economy and jobs."

For Masterson, of course, it remains Issue No. 1.

"As I look forward, it's clear we need to find some sort of middle
ground," he said. "The voters of Montana generally believe that no
one should face criminal penalties for responsible adult use of
cannabis, whether to alleviate symptoms of some malady or relax after
a hard day's work."