Pubdate: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 Source: Great Falls Tribune (MT) Copyright: 2011 Great Falls Tribune Contact: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/customerservice/contactus.html Website: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2502 ALERT: Will Montana Repeal Its Medical Marijuana Law? http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0464.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/states/MT/ (Montana) MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGISLATION: REVISE IT, DON'T REPEAL IT There is no doubt that interest among lawmakers is high in revamping or tossing Montana's voter-passed medical marijuana law. At least 10 bills are alive at present, and hearings are scheduled today and tomorrow on a couple of them. The proposal that's gotten the most attention is House Speaker Mike Milburn's bill repealing the medical marijuana authorization that voters approved by a sizable margin a little more than six years ago. The measure passed through its first vote in the House mostly along party lines with Republicans backing their leader's proposal, but was re-referred to a different committee for further consideration. Some Republicans in the Senate have been openly supporting legislation that we, too, endorse, much more rigidly regulating the medical marijuana industry in the state. That has, in fact, been the problem with the 2004 voter initiative. It legalized medicinal use of cannabis for certain purposes, but put in place nothing in the way of regulation. Subsequent legislative sessions failed to emplace regulations, with the result that a free-form version of a medical pot industry sprouted in the state after the federal law enforcement leaders decided they would not interfere with that use of the drug. And that has resulted in legal and business issues that have left many Montanans - law enforcement officials, educators and business operators - scratching their heads. The simplest solution is Milburn's, or a similar one in the Senate, repealing the law. That, however, ignores the real good that the legalization has accomplished for thousands of Montanans with pain and other issues that are quickly and easily mitigated by marijuana. It also ignores the will of the voters - always a risky business in Montana. The better path would be passage of several bills that would tighten restrictions on the industry and the patients who benefit from the use of cannabis. For example, a hearing is scheduled Friday before the House Human Services Committee on HB488, which would drastically limit the locations in which medical marijuana could be used, including prohibiting it in the presence of children. Other measures further restricting medicinal pot include: . Raising the bar on documentation required to get a card allowing marijuana use (SB170, heard but no vote yet); . Requiring a warning label on marijuana sold for medicinal purposes (HB389, passed House committee earlier this week); . Requiring annual Board of Medical Examiners reviews and reports on complaints about doctors prescribing the drug (HB82, passed the House on Tuesday); . Clarifying and strengthening employers' rights in the area of testing workers (HB43, which also has passed the House); and . Expanding Montana's Indoor Clean Air Act to include the smoking of marijuana (HB19, passed the House and already has been unanimously concurred by the Senate Health, Welfare and Safety Committee). Two other bills would repeal the 2004 initiative. One is SB334, which is effectively a Senate version of Milburn's bill, and it's on hold at the sponsor's request. The other, HB175, would provide for a new public vote on repealing the medical pot law. A hearing is set today in the Senate Judiciary Committee on one more bill - SB336 - that would, in fact, expand potential uses of marijuana to include patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. As we said, the straight repeal bill has gotten most of the attention, but the better option - and one on which lawmakers have been moving in a parallel course - is imposing tighter regulation on this budding health care business.