I have recently been authorized to take medical marijuana. I have a neurological condition that has caused me agony for 40 years. This is a hereditary disease, which my mother had and my daughter currently has. Previous to medical marijuana, I had been prescribed OxyContin and oxycodone as needed for breakthrough pain. I was on these two medications for about 10 years. One major problem with OxyContin is that a tolerance can develop to the drug, requiring an ever increasing dosage. [continues 175 words]
While it is just a story from a town in Texas, it is a story that deserves wide attention because it involves outrageous overreach by a federal law enforcement agency. The story concerns Craig Patty, the owner of a small trucking company who found out that the Drug Enforcement Agency was secretly paying one of his drivers to use one of his trucks to transport large quantities of marijuana as part of a string operation - all without Patty's knowledge. And he found out about it only after the truck was ambushed and shot up by gangsters aiming to hijack the truck and its valuable load. His driver died after being shot eight times. [continues 464 words]
One of two men suing for clarification of Montana law on caregiver-to-caregiver medical marijuana transfers was sentenced Thursday in Flathead District Court. Lief Erickson, 48, Kalispell, was given a four-year suspended sentence as part of a plea agreement on a charge of criminal possession of drugs with intent to distribute. District Judge David Ortley ruled that Erickson is allowed to possess and use medical marijuana under the rules set forth in state law. Erickson and fellow caregiver Robin Ruiz were arrested Feb. 3 after police pulled them over on U.S. 2 near Lake Five Road and found three pounds of bulk-bagged marijuana, 300 Tetrahydrocannabinol pills and 11 ounces of THC honey. THC is the active ingredient in marijuana. [continues 121 words]
A 35-year-old Whitefish man has pleaded innocent to federal charges related to coordinated raids of medical marijuana dispensaries across Montana in March. [name1 redacted], former owner of the Black Pearl dispensary in Olney, was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and money laundering. His marijuana operation was among 26 raided by state and federal law enforcement officials in mid-March. [continues 232 words]
At least something isn't ambiguous about Montana's medical marijuana law. Flathead County District Judge Stewart Stadler recently ruled that the law clearly limits caregivers to providing marijuana to "qualified patients" in a case involving caregivers providing marijuana to one another. A Missoula judge issued a similar ruling earlier this year. The plaintiffs in the case tried to argue that the law is ambiguous, but Stadler found that "no such ambiguity exists; rather, the clear and unambiguous language of the Act permits caregivers to provide marijuana only to qualifying patients who have named the applicant as caregiver." [continues 264 words]
Flathead County District Judge Stewart Stadler has ruled that the Montana Medical Marijuana Act does not allow for transactions of marijuana between caregivers. Thursday's ruling in the civil lawsuit brought against Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan has implications for the criminal cases against two men who were charged with felonies after a February traffic stop that yielded three pounds of marijuana. Stadler granted Corrigan's motion for summary judgment, saying that the Montana Medical Marijuana Act clearly states that caregivers may provide marijuana only to "qualifying patients." [continues 290 words]
'Gathering Clause' One of Big Issues Kalispell school officials are still trying to rework the district's chemical use policy after an incident last fall proved the rule indefensible in court. School board members reviewed the policy for the third time in recent months at their regular meeting Tuesday. One of the major issues deals with the policy's so-called "gathering clause," which says students not only must refrain from using drugs, alcohol and tobacco, but also must not be present anywhere illegal drugs are being used. [continues 440 words]
District Judge Stewart Stadler heard arguments Wednesday in a case pitting a medical marijuana advocacy group against Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan. The Montana Medical Growers Association sued Corrigan March 23 on behalf of two men charged with felonies after a February traffic stop that yielded three pounds of marijuana. Attorneys for the two men - Lief Erickson and Robin Ruiz - say they were acting within the confines of the Medical Marijuana Act as it existed at the time. They were transporting the marijuana to Great Falls, according to law enforcement. Ruiz is a registered caregiver and Erickson a patient. [continues 488 words]
A crowd of people lined the streets near the Whitefish Performing Arts Center on Thursday to urge Gov. Brian Schweitzer to stop a bill that is expected to effectively bring an end to the state's medical marijuana industry. With T-shirts and placards that read, "Veto 423," the crowd swelled to more than 200 people of all ages at one point just before Schweitzer was scheduled to speak at a forum. "I'm not even a medical marijuana user. I think it's just a matter of personal liberty," Whitefish resident Josh King said. "There were hundreds of jobs in this state that were built on this law." [continues 399 words]
The Flathead County Attorney's Office is asking a District Court judge to rule that caregiver-to-caregiver marijuana transactions are illegal under state law. The request comes in the wake of a similar ruling by a Missoula judge and in response to a lawsuit filed against Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan on behalf of the Medical Marijuana Growers Association. Missoula District Judge John Larsen ruled April 6 that the act passed by voter initiative in 2004 "particularly prohibits a caregiver from providing marijuana to anyone other than a qualifying patient who has registered that specific caregiver." [continues 399 words]
Action Aims to Legitimize Transportation of Marijuana Among Caregivers A medicinal marijuana advocacy group has sued Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan on behalf of two men facing felonies after a February traffic stop yielded three pounds of marijuana. The Montana Medical Growers Association is being represented by Tim Baldwin, a Kalispell attorney who said Thursday that the goal of the litigation is to establish that Montana's Medical Marijuana Act allows registered caregivers to lawfully transport marijuana and its paraphernalia to other caregivers. [continues 760 words]
It's hard to predict what kind of reforms will come to pass for Montana's medical marijuana law, but one thing is clear: The state Legislature must pass some significant changes before its business is done in Helena this year. A bill to repeal the law altogether stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday on a 6-6 vote. Also on Monday, federal agents executed 26 search warrants at medical marijuana dispensaries across the state, including here in the Flathead, alleging the operations are involved in illegal marijuana trafficking. [continues 368 words]
A total of 26 criminal search warrants were executed Monday at medical marijuana operations across Montana -- including raids in Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Kalispell and Olney -- along with warrants aimed at seizing up to $4 million from lending institutions. No charges have been filed, but owners of the businesses raided on Monday say marijuana plants, computers and cell phones were seized, and in some instances, bank accounts were frozen. Michael Cotter, U.S. District Attorney for Montana, announced the raids in a Tuesday press release. [continues 575 words]
Federal agents searched several medical marijuana businesses in the Flathead Valley on Monday, the same day similar raids were carried out in several Montana cities. Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry confirmed that the lead agency in local searches was Homeland Security Investigations, formerly known as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and that sheriff's deputies assisted in the searches. One of the searches was conducted at a building occupied by Four Seasons Gardening and Good Medicine Providers on Jellison Road in the Columbia Falls area. [continues 191 words]
John Underwood, director of the American Athletic Institute, spoke rapid-fire for two hours to youths and parents Tuesday at a town-hall meeting in Kalispell hosted by Stop Underage Drinking in the Flathead Coalition. Underwood's message was stark: Alcohol and drugs used by those from their teens to early 20s damage the brain, diminishing athletic and other performance for life. "You mess with this and your body won't perform as it could or should," Underwood said. His graphics showing SPECT scans of underperforming, battle-scarred brains due to alcohol and drugs left one of the biggest impressions of the night. [continues 931 words]
It's understandable why Montana Speaker of the House Mike Milburn is pushing legislation that would repeal the state's medical marijuana law. The law has become an indisputable train wreck, and lawmakers in Helena have been getting an earful recently on just how much of a mess it is, which helps explain why Milburn's bill passed out of committee on a 10-5 vote. But that doesn't mean the law should be outright repealed. Remember, 61 percent of Montana voters supported it in 2004. That is a hefty margin, and the will of the people should be respected when it comes to the initiative. [continues 364 words]
All three candidates seeking the open House District 3 seat agree that the state's medical marijuana law may need some adjusting. Democrat Zac Perry, Republican Jerry O'Neil and independent candidate Shawn Guymon all say that since Montana voters approved a plan to allow medical marijuana to be used in the state, it should remain legal. But they agree that since the system has been put into use, problems have arisen that mean the law needs review and possibly revision. [continues 1493 words]
On the surface, it's an idea that might appear to have merit. The city of Kalispell is making plans to institute a business licensing system -- a registry that would include information vital during an emergency, such as contact names and phone numbers and a way to enter the building. And it would only cost a business $20 or $30 a year, except if you're a medical marijuana business, which would have to pay about 10 times as much. What's wrong with this picture? [continues 384 words]
The wheels are in motion for changes to Montana's dubious medical marijuana industry (or should we say racket?), and changes are definitely in order. A legislative committee has approved a series of measures that would make it more difficult to get a medical marijuana card, set more stringent conditions for those who grow and sell medical marijuana, and make it easier for the state to track and regulate the industry. It has indeed become an industry, with the number of card holders growing from just a few thousand last year to 23,500 at the end of July. That astounding change is thanks largely to "cannabis caravans" that traveled the state, with doctors rapidly screening and approving those in "desperate need" of medical marijuana. The caravans have been discontinued, however, and replaced with online applications for cards. A Billings reporter this week got a doctor's recommendation for medical marijuana after an eight-minute online conversation. [continues 372 words]
It can't be soon enough for Montana's political leaders to start grappling with the unintended consequences of a medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2004. Thankfully, lawmakers have been meeting in Helena recently to craft some solutions well ahead of next year's legislative session. To put it bluntly, the law has been exploited by people seeking marijuana cards to supposedly solve any and every ailment that might qualify them for a card. Sure, there are card holders who have bona fide medical problems that may be alleviated by marijuana. [continues 393 words]
