Monthly Archives: October 2012

Social media is an outstanding tool to get the word around quickly among friends and family. Show your opposition to our broken medical marijuana law by posting and sharing these images with your friends on Facebook or other social media site.

Success! District Court Judge Reynolds issued a Temporary Restraining Order late today, as requested by the MTCIA through their attorney Jim Goetz. The provisions of SB423 which limit providers to no more than 3 patients and prohibit patients from providing anything of value to providers are now temporarily blocked from enforcement by the State. This effectively undoes the effect of the Supreme Court's decision earlier in the week which overturned these provisions in the original injunction. As a result, DPHHS will [...]

Following the Supreme Court ruling yesterday, our case is now back before district court in Helena. Our attorney Jim Goetz filed a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order this morning to keep the state from enforcing SB423's limit of 3 or fewer patients for providers and the ban on any form of compensation for back-end agricultural costs and overhead. He also asked for a new injunction which would reinstate the portions of the injunction overturned by the Montana Supreme Court. The [...]

(October 23, Helena) The Montana Supreme Court today denied a motion filed by the Montana Cannabis Industry Association in its constitutional challenge of the state’s medical marijuana law. The motion asked the Supreme Court to reconsider a recent decision overturning significant parts of a lower court’s injunction against the law. As a result of the September 11 ruling overturning the injunction, the provisions in the current medical marijuana that limit providers to no more than 3 patients and prohibit them from [...]

As many of you know, the recent Montana Supreme Court decision in the MTCIA lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the current medical marijuana law is now being reconsidered by the Court. Our attorney, Jim Goetz, filed a Petition for Rehearing on September 25. The state’s Attorney General filed a response on October 9. The matter is now being reconsidered by the Supreme Court, and we do not know when a decision will be rendered. While it is possible a decision may [...]

The following was posted on the Patients for Reform website earlier today: Don't Let Lazy Press Mislead You On SB 423 October 15, 2012 Here's is how the Billings Gazette is defining the decision over SB 423: "Voting 'for' means supporting the changes that have curbed medical marijuana businesses over the past year. Voting 'against' means going back to the original, voter-approved 2004 law that allowed medical marijuana businesses to flourish." Here is how Montana Public Radio is defining the decision [...]

Drug policy reform continues to make national headlines, but reasoned, bipartisan dialogue on the issues is increasingly rare. Now, CODE OF THE WEST captures the human story behind the legislative process of state-level marijuana policy reform, revealing with nuance and compassion the fight for and against medical marijuana legalization in Montana. Now you can watch the film online for $5! Purchase a individual stream of the film at http://www.newdaydigital.com/Code-of-the-West.html (scroll to the bottom of the page for the $5 individual stream [...]

The first annual National Marijuana Business Conference is an event focused on business, financial and legal concerns for medical marijuana industry professionals. There will be keynotes from Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project, Steve DeAngelo from Harborside Health Center and lots of break-out sessions by speakers from across the country. The conference will be held on the 8th and 9th of November in Denver. Topics range from infused products, new mmj products, best practices, testing labs, and overviews on legislation [...]

The state's Attorney General's office responded to the MTCIA's motion for rehearing by filing its "Objection to Petition for Rehearing" yesterday, October 9. According to the Supreme Court's online docket, it now considers the matter officially submitted for determination. We are unable to say how long it will take the Court to render its decision. The arguments between the MTCIA and the Attorney General are fairly technical. The MTCIA argued that it was simply speaking to the issue on appeal: whether [...]

This went out earlier today from Patients for Reform. HELENA, Oct. 10 – No poll shows IR-124 with majority support, and the new law now faces two new hurdles to approval by the voters this year. Patients for Reform, Not Repeal has begun its second radio advertising campaign with a new spot, entitled “Running Away,” which points to the measure’s weak voter support and even opposition from the Montana Republican Party. The spot notes that Sen. Jeff Essman, sponsor of SB [...]

I thought it was about time to follow up on my previous post about Chris Williams' trial. The decision to plead guilty, and ultimately be compelled to testify, came down to a few key factors for me, and I relied on several family members and friends during the course of the last year to help me in make this decision. Here are a few things that tipped the scale in my mind, in no particular order. 1. One of the hallmarks [...]

The group Safe Communities, Safe Kids was the strongest supporter of complete repeal of the voter-approved medical marijuana law during the last legislative session, and worked against all forms of regulation and a workable system for Montana citizens. When complete repeal became impossible, they encouraged legislators to get as close to repeal as possible. 62% of voters passed the law in 2004 -- and in early 2011, polls showed that 76% supported reform rather than repeal. Their efforts succeeded, and the [...]