Pubdate: Tue, 30 Oct 2012
Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)
Copyright: 2012 The Billings Gazette
Contact: http://billingsgazette.com/app/contact/?contact=letter
Website: http://www.billingsgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515
Author: Cherrie Brady
Note: Cherrie Brady of Billings is chairwoman of Safe Community Safe 
Kids, which organized to oppose medical marijuana.

RESTRICT MARIJUANA INDUSTRY: VOTE TO KEEP SB423

In response to public outcry over the unregulated, out-of-control 
medical marijuana industry, the Montana Legislature passed Senate 
Bill 423. After months of deliberation and thousands of testimonies 
from each side, this bill passed with the support of both Republicans 
and Democrats.

Even though the bill is not in full effect yet, it has put some very 
needed and welcomed sideboards on this rapidly growing industry. 
Since its passing, the number of registered medical marijuana users 
has dropped from 30,000 to 8,849, the number of providers has dropped 
from 4,800 to 395, and many of the storefronts are disappearing. With 
the law imposing additional requirements for minors to obtain cards, 
Montana now has only two cards holders under the age of 18.

It was the intent of SB423 to bring the use of medical marijuana back 
in line with what Montanans thought they were voting for in 2004. The 
very first sentence in the 2004 Voter Information Pamphlet stated, 
"This initiative (I-148) would allow the production, possession, and 
use of marijuana by patients with debilitating medical conditions". 
That is what SB423 does. In the same pamphlet the proponents argued, 
"I-148 would allow people to grow their own personal supply of 
marijuana so they would no longer have to buy it from the criminal 
market". SB423 allows them to do that.

Nowhere in the original arguments was the mention of a marijuana 
industry, storefronts, billboards and provocative signs or medical 
marijuana caravans. Nowhere did it mention that marijuana plants 
would be publicly displayed or that people would be allowed to openly 
smoke marijuana in public setting like the lawn of the state capitol. 
Nowhere did it mention that providers would be allowed to grow so 
much marijuana that the excess would be sold to the black market. 
SB423 puts an end to these practices.

The Montana cannabis industry has an initiative referendum, I-124, on 
the ballot to repeal SB423, and return Montana to the out-of-control, 
free-for-all we had before the bill was passed. They say it overrides 
the will of the people. Not true. It returns medical marijuana to 
what the people voted for initially. Their main complaint seems to be 
that the money has been removed from the industry. But according to 
their own arguments in the 2004 VIP, medical marijuana is about 
compassion they never mentioned money.

The language on I-124 is confusing and misleading. So we would like 
to clarify it for you. Under Initiative Referendum 124:

- - If you like the sideboards placed on the medical marijuana industry 
and want to keep SB423 in place, vote FOR SB423.

- - If you don't want Montana to return to the unregulated, lawless, 
rapidly growing industry we had prior to the 2011 legislative 
session, vote FOR SB423.

- - If you don't want the storefronts and billboards to reappear, vote FOR SB423.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom