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.
Jason Christ, executive director of the Montana Caregivers Network, thinks that eight minutes was too long a wait, and not surprisingly, he is unhappy with the new restrictions that are being proposed for the Legislature.
“I think these bill drafts simply don’t make sense and don’t reflect the will of the people,” he says.
Well, we beg to differ. Montana voters approved a medical marijuana ballot initiative in 2004 after being exposed to a campaign that highlighted terminally ill people or unfortunate souls with serious pain. There was an impression that medical marijuana would be used for exceptional purposes.
But that’s not what happened, and there seems to be a reluctance to accurately describe what has happened. But we’ll give it a stab: while many card holders probably have legitimate medical issues, a good share of medical marijuana cards are being acquired by potheads with no serious ailments.
And we’ll take it a step further. Some marijuana “caregivers” are nothing more than profit-seeking pot dealers.
Take the case of two sisters who were arrested in the Havre area this week for suspect transactions at their “Ganja Gardens” business. An undercover investigation revealed that the sisters were selling more than the one-ounce state limit, they weren’t selling to designated patients as required, and their marijuana grow operation was not substantial enough to provide the amount of pot they were distributing, raising suspicions that they were buying their weed from elsewhere. And that’s not how it’s supposed to work.
But that’s the big problem here; Montana’s medical marijuana law is not working the way it was supposed to work in many ways.
“When I talk to my constituents — even those who voted for it — they say, ‘This is not what I voted for,’” said state Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings.
He’s not alone in that observation. If marijuana advocates want legalized marijuana, hey that’s cool, put it on the ballot and let’s see what happens. But exploiting the state’s medical marijuana law isn’t cool, and the Legislature is right to bring the law in line with the intent of Montana’s voters.
HardNosed posted at 12:41 pm on Wed, Sep 8, 2010.
ok, here is one of the main reasons why the laws need to look at further...comments like "There's even research that shows someone that uses marijuana is more likely to be a safer, more defensive driver than someone who is sober" by mrcheezle420. are you serious? Ignorant statements like that are the reason why people are fearful of even letting a small section of society benifit from cannibis. You might as well state that someone that is drunk is more defensive when driving then someone sober because they are trying to pay attention to their surroundings better. The article above hit it on the head. The only reason it was passed and should have been passed in the first place was for the terminally ill and dying. You will always find research for it and against it. If it is against it, it's propaganda and if it is for it, it has no proof. If you want to quote research then look at Montana's ignorance on this. Not one person has been turned down to date for a card. You do not even have to a Montana resident to get a card. I personally know people that get the card for a toothache and asthma. It was also intended that it was only for temporary relief of the current ailment that you suffer from. It was not intended for a continuous use every day. The fact is the majority of the people that have cards do not need them and are nothing more then the usual potheads using an excuse to become even more of life's idiots. They also destroy any chance for the few people that might benifit from it to actually have a fair chance. You ask most people and if someone is dying from cancer or another disease and most people lean towards, why not as long as it is regulated.
Libra41 posted at 3:06 pm on Mon, Aug 30, 2010.
If we don't have the government telling us what we can and can't eat, smoke, drink, read and say, what are we supposed to do? Make our own decisions? That would be scary!
JBSTONE posted at 12:23 am on Mon, Aug 30, 2010.
I see all the usual suspects have brought their campaign here with NO mention of the huge fiasco which has been foisted upon the voters of Montana.
I've got news for you....given the CURRENT mess......you are going to be hard pressed to convince anyone we "need" to open the flood gates ANY farther.
The inability of the "medical" marijuana crowd to behave like adults is causing a HUGE backlash amongst the public.....and DESERVEDLY so.
mrcheezle420 posted at 6:14 pm on Sun, Aug 29, 2010.
Why aren't we seriously discussing Cannabis legalization for recreational use? I'm a medical marijuana patient, but most patients will tell you that they enjoy smoking for recreational use as well as medicinal. Like vitamins, using marijuana regularly keeps you happy and healthy. It is healthier than using Advil or Tylenol and gives you a safer, more controlled buzz than alcohol. There's even research that shows someone that uses marijuana is more likely to be a safer, more defensive driver than someone who is sober.
The only argument that holds any ground as to why marijuana should remain illegal is that we are ignorant, logic-resisting monkeys. This is the only explanation as to why we have left it illegal and thus we probably shouldn't be allowed to use Cannabis' amazing technology, simply awaiting the research and development to unravel. We have already discovered that Marijuana cures cancer, clothes, feeds, and acts as medicine. What could be next? We keep talking about going green, but here is the answer to our fuel, hunger, and health care problems. The perfect plant that can be harvested in less than 3 months is rejected by right wing (and some left wing) politicians, seeking the votes of concerned parents. If parents are really that concerned, maybe they should simply spend time with their children, instead of blaming an innocent species of plant life.
When did humans get so egotistical that they believed they could take a natural substance and make it illegal, let alone profiteering off it? The simple answer to all of our problems isn't to legalize it, but to simply erase all the laws we have put in place to make it illegal in the first place. Those laws are ridiculous and based on propaganda from the 20's and 30's. We need to make a new, informed vote, based on scientific research rather than fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Free the Plant posted at 8:35 am on Sun, Aug 29, 2010.
The biggest problem with people using cannabis is not the cannabis or the people that use it. It is the people who have a PROBLEM with people using this plant. And the ones who are screaming the loudest about people using cannabis are NOT the ones who voted for it to begin with!
PabloKoh posted at 6:58 am on Sun, Aug 29, 2010.
Ahhhh, the old myth of medical cannabis as a medicine of last resort. Why would we want patients to be deathly ill or suffering from horrible conditions before allowing them to access to one of the safest drugs available to them? The use of cannabis has not killed a single user worldwide! Please compare that to over the counter painkillers, simple drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen available at every corner store and gas station. How many deaths did otc painkillers cause in the US in 1997? Per the July 1998 issue of The American Journal of Medicine:
"Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone. The figures of all NSAID users would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem is generally under-appreciated."
16,000 arthritis patients alone each year would be alive if they had access to the safe medicine of cannabis.
PabloKoh posted at 6:56 am on Sun, Aug 29, 2010.
Ahhhh, the old myth of medical cannabis as a medicine of last resort. Why would we want patients to be deathly ill or suffering from horrible conditions before allowing them to access to one of the safest drugs available to them? The use of cannabis has not killed a single user worldwide! Please compare that to over the counter painkillers, simple drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen available at every corner store and gas station. How many deaths did otc painkillers cause in the US in 1997? Per the July 1998 issue of The American Journal of Medicine:
"Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone. The figures of all NSAID users would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem is generally under-appreciated."
16,000 arthritis patients alone each year would be alive if they had access to the safe medicine of cannabis.
Free the Plant posted at 6:13 am on Sun, Aug 29, 2010.
California will be the first state to legalize cannabis this November. Montana will follow suit in 2012.
Free the Plant posted at 6:10 am on Sun, Aug 29, 2010.
That is exactly why we need to get past the medical and legalize cannabis across the board for responsible adult use, as well as the 10,000 other things the cannabis plant can do besides get you high: feed you, clothe you, provide paper and building material for you, fuel for you. All of this can be ours if we legalize cannabis entirely and be done with it. No more depending on agribusiness (thanks for the salmonella eggs folks) energy companies (get ready for major spikes in oil prices as the world continues to demand more of this finite resource) and a medical system that holds us hostage with unbelievable unaffordable cost.
Let law enforcement concentrate on the things they are really needed for: murder, assault, burglery, illegal immigration: you know, serve and protect rather than dominate and control.
The law that made this PLANT (not a drug, heroin in a drug, cocaine is a drug cannabis is a plant) illegal was born of racism and greed and we want the laws removed and our freedom restored.