HELENA -- Use of marijuana for medical reasons will be legal in Montana and tobacco users will see a tax increase, voters decided Tuesday in passing a pair of ballot measures.

Initiative 148 allows the cultivation, possession and use of marijuana, in limited amounts, for medical purposes. The initiative shields patients, their doctors and caregivers from arrest and prosecution.

Initiative 149 will increase tobacco taxes by $45 million a year, allocating most of the money for new or existing health-care programs.

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HELENA -- Use of marijuana for medical reasons will be legal in Montana and tobacco users will see a tax increase, voters decided Tuesday in passing a pair of ballot measures Tuesday.

Initiative 148 allows the cultivation, possession and use of marijuana, in limited amounts, for medical purposes. The initiative shields patients, their doctors and caregivers from arrest and prosecution.

Initiative 149 will increase tobacco taxes by $45 million a year, allocating most of the money for new or existing health care programs.

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