We’ve got a short time frame to do it, but we must stop SB 423 from being implemented and destroying access to medical cannabis in Montana. The Montana Cannabis Industry Association (MCIA) will secure the services of attorney Jim Goetz of Bozeman who has experience with cannabis cases and experience winning a constitutional case in the United States Supreme Court. He’s a “big gun.” When Montanans see his name, they’ll know we are serious and we are hiring the best. MCIA talked to more than a dozen lawyers and Goetz was the name, over and over. Even attorneys who wanted the job themselves said Goetz was the man.
Hiring the best comes with a price. We must raise $50,000 by Friday morning. DONE! That’s what it takes for the best and that is the timeframe we’re working with. We can do this.
On behalf of caregivers and patients statewide, Goetz will deploy legal actions intended to first delay the new law’s implementation, and then strike it down in its entirety. The initial delay action will buy us time to collect signatures for the referendum to keep the law from being implemented. But we need your financial help immediately to make this happen.
There’s no time for hand wringing. A $250 contribution towards securing Goetz’s services also provides membership to the MCIA. But please give more if you can. The clock is ticking.
IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE WORK TOGETHER. PLEASE DISCOURAGE OTHERS FROM FILING LAWSUITS INDEPENDENTLY. THE FIRST CASE TO FILE BECOMES THE LEAD PLAINTIFF AND THE WRONG CASE WILL DESTROY OUR CHANCES OF SUCCESS. PLEASE CONTACT US BEFORE FILING ANY LAWSUITS.
The attorney. The venue. The plaintiffs. Every detail contributes to our success or failure. It’s critical that we consolidate our efforts into this case. We have strategy. We need an attorney that Montana judges know and respect so the court system understands that we are a group of professionals.
And that we’re not going away.
You recognize the need to invest in this effort to protect patients and the caregivers that serve them. There is no time to waste. Contact us immediately with your pledge and send checks to:
Montana Cannabis Industry Association PO Box 9085
i just wanted to say thank u iwould help with some money but cuurently i’m already wo0rking part time if i could help with anything else please let me know
Tina, you can contact other patients and caregivers and tell them about this site and the urgent need for donations today.
keep up the good work i like all the info!!
@ $250 a pop, it only takes 200 of us, so lets get this going people!!!! Mine is already on the way.
Can you clarify whether you needing to raise funds by THIS Friday, the 6th or by NEXT Friday, the 13th of May?
Thanks,
This friday the 6th — morning, asap.
Is it too late then at this point (Friday night) to donate or spread the word? What’s the update in status as of today?
It is not too late. The initial goal (which has not been reached) is for lawsuit kickoff — we will need sustained support. Thank you for spreading the word!
Today only we will have locations in both Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley collecting donations. Even the smallest donation will help this cause!
Big Sky Health (406)830-3011
1925 Brooks St. (Missoula)
Zoo Mountain (406)349-4200
345 West Front St. (Missoula)
Bubba Ash’s (406)207-8356
417 Wolfville Lane (2 miles south of Florence)
The Banana Belt (406)207-7748
46 Stevensville Cutoff Rd. (Stevensville)
The Smoke Shop (406) 590-6337
914 N. 1st St Suite B (Hamilton)
How’s it going? Was it raised? Are we close?? Thank you!!!!!
Matt, it’s no secret that in-your-face advertising and ostentatious public smoking contributed to the mess we’re in. We’ll continue to push for a reasonably regulated market and responsible business practices. I hope that helps.
I challenge all patients to pledge at least $10 to this cause, if you can’t afford that then encourage those you know who can to give whatever they can.
hey you all have rights to your opion ihave one if our government members weren’t mostly elder members alive and about the perfect age to see the smear campaign against marijuana that wasl launched by a bunch of yahoos who were only concerned with killin all the beautiful trees in our country, only for the purpose of personal financial gain hemp would have and still is a smarter alternative and far better source for our paper products.not to mention hemp is essier to produce and faster to replenish than growin trees. ithink its time we put more people in offices of our government who didnt grow up in the stone age gees it is 2011 about time to move foward with the changes that our country has been moving towards MARIJUANA ISNT THE PROBLEM its the ignorance that our gov officials have demonstrated .i will conclude my statement with a logical question why the hell is it ok for a grown man or woman to get drunk and its their own choice then what the hell gives anyone the right to worry about my personal life?
Jeff and Silent:
It isn’t only the people “who grew up in the stone age” that are responsible for SB 423. You apparently were not in Helena at the House hearings on SB 423 in the legislature. The House Republicans who voted for SB 423 were of ALL ages, young and old. Likewise, some of the most prominent opponents of SB 423 (Dave Wanzenreid, for example) are of the generation that you would refer to as being from “the stone age”.
Ignorance and intolerance are traits that defy generational boundaries. In order to prevent what occurred in our legislature from happening again, we must examine the candidates based on issues, rather than party affiliation. Too many Montanans blindly vote Republican because they perceive them as being “the party of the people.” As this legislature graphically demonstrated, Republicans have become the party of huge corporate interests and religious extremists who are not concerned about individual rights.
I agree with your idea about producing industrial hemp as an alternative to destroying our forests. It is only ignorance on the part of our government officials that prevent hemp from being commercially cultivated.
the smoke shop in Hamilton’s # is 363-6337 instead of 590
All lets get our act together and MTCIA is our vehicle to do it. When we get SB423 silenced we can pursue a bill that will eradicate the black eye we have give ourselves. Our store happly gave a $1,000 donation and we are small, I dare you folks to match.
I share matts concerns exactly. I’ve gotten to the point that I almost hate the state legalized program and am embarrassed to be a caregiver. So much immaturity from business owners and patients, so many storefronts, each one of them with a potleaf billboard. This is small town Montana and the folks that are opposed to our industry have rights to there opinions and deserve our respect. And i think our patients deserve more discretion. I will donate to the cause and if we do slow down sb423 or stop it all together I hope that we can learn to embrace this wonderful opportunity that we HAD and hopefully will get back. GMC
I understand your concerns and to an extent agree. But for me, this law was not only about medicine, it was also about not hiding who I am anymore.
I don’t advocate smoking in public or around anyone who simply doesn’t want to be around it, but I’m also not going to be ashamed of who I am and what I do. I worked for MTcannabis and we had just started to advertise our business before being shut down, as any legitmate taxpaying business should be entitled to do. I think advertising is disrespecting those that don’t agree with medical cannabis anymore than advertising gun sales is disrespectful to those that don’t like guns, or a thousand other examples for that matter. If a very vocal minority is getting all butt hurt at the very sight of a cannabis business, I say that says a lot more about them than it does about us.
Sorry to hear you are ashamed to be part of the cannabis community, I for one am quite proud to stand up for what I believe in.
that should say I don’t think advertising is disrespecting….
obviously
Justin. I definately didn’t mean any disrespect to anyone in the caregiver business. I shouldn’t have used the word ashamed nor do I believe that we should have to hide who we are. We should consider the perception of the general public. Again no disrespect intended but where I live and I’m sure across the state caregivers were, I think using poor judgement when locating their dispensorys. Very near schools, parks, main street, etc. City ordinances against dispenorys followed immediately and didn’t help caregivers image much.
Is there a bank account where direct deposits can be made?
The account is Sterling Savings Bank in Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, Hamilton, Livingston, Big Timber. If you walk in with a check or cash for the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, it’ll get to us.
How close are we? When is the cut off?
Still almost 20k short, please spread the word. It is possible we have through the weekend, but we need to have a good story to tell 3 hours from now.
I just went to the Sterling Savings bank on S Reserve in Missoula. They wouldn’t take my money with out an account #. And they were annoyed with the fact i was attempting to deposit.
I just called them. The problem was they couldn’t find the name based on what you said. Important to say “Montana Cannabis Industry Association”. Please try again, thank you!
I said exactly that to the teller. I believe we all need to note that there is going to be resistance to the movement. Especially since our cards have been showed with the article in the paper describing the tactics the movement is taking.
Update on money raised? Do we still have time? I just emailed this link to everyone I know, wanted to make sure we still have time…
Thanks!
Just sent the link to 20 friends and donated $20 despite losing my primary job due to last months raids.
I guess the raids were more than a month ago now.
I’m am curious to know what will happen with the money if not enough is raised in time?
We believe we will be close enough by Monday to officially engage the attorney to get started — but every donation helps us get there. Thank you!
Well I certainly hope that happens, and I’d like to support it, but before I do, I’d like to know what will happen to the money if this thing doesn’t work out? Will it stay within this association or will it be refunded? Thanks
We have the funds now to launch the lawsuit — with a different attorney. We want to hire the best, and the 50k milestone is what’s required to do so. If, for some reason, we fail to reach the milestone, or the attorney changed his mind and declined the case, we could take the money to a different attorney if needed. We have a backup plan.
Thanks for the prompt response. I just wanted to be sure before I made my donation.
Any update on amount of funds donated? Hopefully there’s some in the mail also. What district court will the injunction be filed?
We’re about $10k short for kickoff currently, but good news is coming in every couple hours. I’m optimistic we’ll get there tomorrow!
John, who’s attorneys on the short list for plan B?
We won’t need plan B. Goetz has informally agreed to accept the case and I’m 99% sure we’ll meet the milestone by noon tomorrow. Thanks to all who have invested in this effort.
Good to hear!
First, to “Jeff and Silent J”, it’s not the “elder members”, but the right-wing members trying to have medical cannabis banned. You may not have been around in the 70s when we were fighting to get marijuana legalized, but I was! We are now in our 50s and 60s and still fighting for legalization (have you seen the age range of cardholders? Thousands in our 50s, 60s and 70s!) I encourage all cardholders to send what they can, be it only $10 or $20; it counts up quickly if enough folks will contribute. I also encourage all large caregivers to contact their patients to let them know about this effort. I was disappointed not to see it reported on the local news in Missoula, but thankfully, the Missoulian ran the story. Let’s fight the good fight!
Status update?
Collecting checks from a few more people this morning, tally to follow. Thanks!
Sb 423 violates enough guarenteed freedoms (for instance the freedom of speech) that it should be a priority for all montanans to block it.
Also, rather than blaming people for immaturity, in your face tactics, blatent public discourse, ignorance of the issues, for being the cause, why not look at it as an opportunity to grow up and accept the challanges presented.
It is a fearsome thing to be pubically “bitch slapped” and told to shut up and go away.
However, history repeatedly shows us that only by a united front do people prevail against tyranny.
Finger pointing, blaming, fear, in fighting, lack of direction and leadership, none of these things further the cause.
Inside the cannabis community, there is a cross section of society from medical patients to recreational smokers who all want their needs addressed.
At this point, an attitude of first things first by everyone , plus a commitment to the agenda laid out by those who are standing up courageously to leadership roles seems the smartest attitude to take.
Excuse me if i am wrong, but priority is blocking SB423. All effort by the community should be funneled into that. Without stopping 423, there is no way of creating a legislation that serves the wishes and the needs of the diverse community.
You are right, priority is blocking SB 423, and I think we’re doing everything in our power to make that happen.
I respect and support that. If signatures are going to be needed, please notify and count me in to collect my share.
Publicly. Obviously i meant to say publicly.
And euphimistically, at that. As far as i know, no one has been literally bitch slapped nor told to shut up and go away.
That is just how i translated SB423 when i first read it.