Pubdate: Fri, 05 Oct 2012
Source: Great Falls Tribune (MT)
Copyright: 2012 Great Falls Tribune
Contact: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2502
Author: John S. Adams

Initiative Referendum 124: MEDICAL MARIJUANA AGAIN IN CROSSHAIRS

HELENA - In 2004, Montana voters legalized medical marijuana by a
higher percentage than any other state in the nation.

Sixty-two percent of the state's electorate voted in favor of the
Montana Medical Marijuana act, making marijuana legal to treat the
symptoms of certain ailments and conditions.

For five years, the number of people who registered with the state as
marijuana patients and caregivers grew at a relatively slow pace.

That changed in 2009 when U.S. Deputy Attorney General David Ogden
issued a memo advising U.S. attorneys in states with medical marijuana
laws to not focus federal resources "on individuals whose actions are
in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing
for the medical use of marijuana."

Many people in the medical marijuana community believed the Ogden memo
demonstrated that President Barack Obama had fulfilled his 2007
campaign promise to "not have the Justice Department prosecuting and
raiding medical marijuana users."

To the state's medical marijuana patients and caregivers, the memo
signaled a positive shift in federal policy toward state-level medical
marijuana laws and the industry responded beyond almost anyone's
expectations.

In the span of just two years, the number of medical marijuana
patients skyrocketed from 3,921 in September 2009 to more than 28,000
by the time the Legislature convened in January 2011. During that same
period, the number of Montana caregivers authorized to grow marijuana
for patients jumped from 1,403 to 4,833.

Nearly everyone agreed that the state needed to rein in the booming
industry and put restrictions on marijuana's use and sale. The 2004
was too vague, leading many communities to put their own restrictions
on medical marijuana storefronts.

A bipartisan bill aimed at reforming the law never received a vote in
the Republican-controlled House Human Services Committees. Instead,
the Republican-controlled Legislature, led by House Speaker Mike
Milburn of Cascade pushed to repeal the voter-approved initiative 
altogether.

Then, in March 2011 federal agents raided 26 medical marijuana
caregiver operations in 13 cities across the state as a Senate
committee was considering Milburn's repeal measure.

The repeal bill eventually passed the Legislature only to meet
Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer's veto pen.

In the final hours of the 2011 session, Republicans pushed through
Senate Bill 423, aimed at severely limiting the law and banning
caregivers from making any kind of profit off of growing and supplying
medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana proponents called SB423 "de facto repeal" of the
2004 voter-approved initiative and immediately set about blocking
portions of the law in court.

The Montana Supreme Court on Sept. 11 ruled that the ban on medical
marijuana sales does not violate the constitutional rights of
registered users or providers.

Initiative Referendum 124 would overturn SB423 and reinstate the 2004
law minus those portions of the original law ruled on by the courts.

Bob Brigham is the spokesman for Montana First, a pro-medical
marijuana group urging voters to vote "No" on IR-124. A "No" vote
would repeal SB423.

"We're urging everyone to vote 'no' to send a signal to the
Legislature that they need to deal with this in a constructive manner
in 2013," Brigham said. "Voters deserve legislation next spring that
brings law enforcement and patients together to find the kinds of
solutions that other states have been able to do."

Milburn, who remains adamantly opposed to legalizing marijuana for any
reason, said Montanans don't want to go back to the days of marijuana
storefronts selling the drug to anyone with a state-issued card.

Milburn said the Legislature did the right thing by effectively
repealing the 2004 law and is urging voters to uphold SB423 with a
"yes" vote come November.

"It is our responsibility to maintain the safety and welfare of our
citizens," Milburn said. "It became a very dangerous drug trade that
was happening here in the state that was affecting the safety of our
neighborhoods and our schools."

Brigham said the state high court's ruling earlier this month should
serve as a reminder to medical marijuana supporters that the courts
cannot be relied upon to "save" patients.

"To be able to have functioning medical marijuana in Montana, it's
going to be a political solution. The first step in that political
solution is to vote 'no' on IR-124," Brigham said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt