Update on 2017 Medical Marijuana Legislation The first half of the 2017 legislative session involved considerable conversations with legislators and other stakeholders up at the Capitol. The MTCIA has contributed to draft legislation expected to be introduced in March. The MTCIA brought the following provisions to the table: Establishment of a seed-to-sale tracking system Shifting Read More »

  In these first days of the 2017 Legislative Session, it seems legislators do not have the blood thirst to kill the medical marijuana program that has been evidenced in the past. This is good news. However, there are new and different fronts that require attention and work. Generally speaking, there seems to be some Read More »

After serving as MTCIA President for the past year, Bob Devine is stepping down from the position. Devine served as President during the one of the most dynamic political cycles since medical marijuana became an option in Montana. It was a time of crisis as the five year lawsuit came to a close with a Read More »

Get on the Team. Protect Access During the 2017 Legislature.   Within the first 10 days of I-182 going into effect 1300 patients have applied to restore their access to medical marijuana to treat their debilitating conditions. As always, the ability of the MTCIA to protect access was made possible by our donors. We have Read More »

First, we recognize that the Governor’s budget never ends exactly how it starts. There’s a long road ahead and it might be premature to react. That said, medications are not taxed in Montana so objections to singling out cannabis for taxation make sense. The average patient spending $200 per month would be looking at a Read More »

Designed as a trade association, the MTCIA has been an important tool for getting things done in Montana. The organizational structure was already there in place, if not active, when the crisis of SB 423 happened in 2011. Founder Nathan Pierce could see the crisis for what it was and though the organization was “his Read More »

Today, Montana Cannabis Industry Association (MTCIA) attorney, Jim Goetz, filed in Montana First Judicial District Court for a declaratory injunction and an alternative writ of mandamus requesting that the Court direct the Montana Department of Health and Human Services to begin the immediate processing and issuing medical marijuana patient cards. The inadvertent transposition of the Read More »

Big breath. Pat yourself on the back. Thank the voters who protected access to medical marijuana in Montana. I-182 has passed. Access is restored. The election results must be certified by December 5, at which time I-182 becomes Montana’s new medical marijuana law. We are busy at work remedying the clerical error. The MTCIA is Read More »

The MTCIA would like to extend their appreciation to all the patients willing to share their lives and private challenges in order to help thousands of their fellow Montanans. We thank the providers and others who stepped up to assure the effort to protect medical marijuana access was undertaken professionally and with the tools necessary Read More »

How do you know the Mason-Dixon poll question on the medical marijuana initiative, I-182, is a politically-driven push poll, and how does the polling change when you use the actual ballot language rather than the mischaracterizing rhetoric? Here’s how the Billings Gazette reported the poll question was framed: “This ballot measure would allow wide use Read More »