Montana Legislature To Look Into Medical Marijuana Issues

[HerbanLegendSeeds]

Prescription drug regulations span literally thousands of pages in state and federal statutes, as well as Federal Drug Administration rules.

 

Pharmacists must go to college for six years, spend a year in the field and pass tests proving they mastered both medicine and Montana law before they can sell prescription medication. Pharmacies also are required to keep detailed records and be audited annually.

 

In contrast, Montana's law regulating medical marijuana covers six pages — including the title page. Providers must be named by a licensed patient and have no drug offenses on their criminal records in order to legally grow and sell marijuana for medical purposes.

 

Legislators intentionally left many details vague when crafting the law in response to a 2004 voter initiative as they did not want to get too tangled in the complicated legal morass.

 

But with the number of medical marijuana patients in the state increasing to more than 12,000 and the number of caregivers also increasing quickly, the Legislature is being drawn back into the topic.

 

"I don't think anyone envisioned what would happen with this industry when they created the statute," Havre City Councilman Andrew Brekke said. "We're going to need some direction."

 

A legislative interim committee will begin taking up issues related to medical marijuana Tuesday morning when it conducts four panel discussions and takes public testimony.

 

Government officials, caregivers and patients have dozens of unanswered questions about medical marijuana, including:

 

# What can cities and counties do through zoning to control where medical marijuana can be used or sold?

 

# What problems are raised by marijuana remaining a Schedule 1 illegal narcotic under federal law?

 

# Since schools are drug-free zones, can caregivers sell within 1,000 feet of school zones?

 

# If caregivers sell baked goods containing marijuana, do they need to pass health inspections as a restaurant would?

 

# Do patients need to tell their employers of their status?

 

# Do caregivers need to tell their landlords about their business?

(2 of 2)

 

# Should patients be required to tell their caregivers if they take prescription medications and tell their pharmacist if they use medical marijuana?

 

# Do caregivers need insurance and/or business licenses?

 

# Should caregivers follow the same rules as farmers regarding fertilizers and pest control?

 

# Caregivers are allowed to grow six plants per patient, but how big can a plant be, and what happens to unused stems and leafs?

 

# Caregivers also are told to have a constant supply for each patient, so can they start seedlings before the mature plants are used up?

 

"They're not going to sit down this legislative session and fix every single problem," state Narcotics Bureau Chief Mark Long said of legislators. "We have been ignoring this for a year now. That hasn't gotten us where we need to be."

 

A group of caregivers recently formed the Montana Medical Growers Association with the goals of ensuring patients get a quality product; educating patients, caregivers, law enforcement officials and local governments; and voicing cultivators' concerns and opinions to state legislators and city officials.

 

"The majority of patients and caregivers desire to work within the rules," association Executive Director Jim Gingery said. "If there's confusion in the law we need to clarify it. An all-out ban does not solve the problem."

 

He envisions a future in which patients will have test kits to determine the strength of the product they buy, under a law guided not by zealots on either side but by common sense.

 

"With any new industry, there's going to be growing pains," Gingery said. "We want Montana to be a model to other states on how to do it the right way. We need a plan that addresses issues from all sides and does so in a responsible manner."

 

 

 

It appears they are doing what we should be looking at doing in the future.