Pubdate: Sat, 5 Feb 2011
Source: Helena Independent Record (MT)
Copyright: 2011 Helena Independent Record
Contact: http://helenair.com/app/contact/letters_to_editor/
Website: http://helenair.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1187
Author: Charles S. Johnson
Referenced: House Bill 161 http://mapinc.org/url/8xAKHCnv
Referenced: House Bill 68 http://mapinc.org/url/LP63SIxk
Referenced: Senate Bill 154 http://mapinc.org/url/4MHyBUiX
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/states/MT/ (Montana)
Bookmark: http://www.drugsense.org/cms/geoview/n-us-mt (Montana)

BILL CLEARS WAY TO START OVER

The House Human Services Committee voted 10-5 Friday to repeal 
Montana's 2004 voter-passed bill legalizing the use of medical marijuana.

All of the committee's 10 Republicans voted for House Bill 161, by 
House Speaker Mike Milburn, R-Cascade. All five Democrats opposed it.

The bill now heads to the House floor for debate on Tuesday, barring 
any last-minute scheduling changes.

"I am pleased to see the Human Services Committee supports this 
incredibly important bill, and I look forward to it passing the full 
House of Representatives next week," Milburn said afterward.

The sharply divided committee debated the bill for less than a half 
hour before voting.

"This is an initiative that has gone horribly wrong," said Rep. Cary 
Smith, R-Billings. "This is not what the people voted for."

Smith said he was appointed to serve on an ad hoc committee by the 
Billings Council to deal with the consequences of the explosive 
growth of medical marijuana in recent years. The city has faced 
problems with medical marijuana storefronts located in front of 
schools and churches, he said.

"We need to turn this thing off and start over," Smith said.

As of December 2010, more than 27,000 people in Montana have been 
authorized to use medical marijuana, an increase of 20,000 
cardholders from December 2009.

But Rep. Pat Noonan, D- Butte, opposed the bill.

"I have a rule that I don't vote against anything that's voted on by 
the voters," he said. "If we really want to repeal, I think the 
voters should do it."

In 2004, Montana voters passed the initiative by 62 percent to 38 percent.

Rep. Michael More, R-Gallatin Gateway, acknowledged he had voted for 
the measure, thinking it would be just to help people with 
debilitating diseases.

"There was an element of wishful naivete on the part of those who 
voted this in," More said.

But the state has instead had to deal with far-reaching consequences 
of the initiative, including what More called "an element of 
licentiousness in the culture" under the law.

Rep. Ellie Hill, D-Missoula, criticized the repeal bill, saying that 
opponents of HB161 outnumbered its supporters by 3-to-1 at the 
hearing earlier this week.

"There was a lot of talk that this has increased crime rates," she 
said. "I didn't hear anyone with evidence."

She said Milburn doesn't accept the fact that marijuana works as 
medicine, despite legislators hearing from people, including some in 
wheelchairs, testifying that it has helped treat their health problems.

The Missoula lawmaker said she has heard from thousands of people who 
support medical marijuana but want the Legislature to enact some 
sideboards to the bill. She urged lawmakers to instead consider the 
bipartisan measure approved by a legislative interim committee, House 
Bill 68, by Rep. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, which would add regulations.

"They don't think the current law is what people voted for," she 
said. "They voted for safe access to medical marijuana. They want us 
to put some training wheels on."

Afterward, Tom Daubert, an author and campaign manager for the 2004 
initiative, criticized the committee action.

"For legislators who rejected proposals to improve the law in '07 and 
'09 to now rush to repeal rather than to fix a compassionate policy 
passed by the people in record numbers is a tragedy for patients and 
an insult to the Montana values of freedom and democracy," said 
Daubert, who heads a group called Patients & Families United. 
"Consensus solutions to the law's problems exist. But redefining 
thousands of suffering Montanans as criminals is not a solution, nor 
is it morally justifiable."

Besides Sands' HB68, there is another major medical marijuana bill, 
Senate Bill 154, by Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, that would also set up 
state licensing and regulation of the medical marijuana businesses. 
Sands' bill would impose licensing fees to pay for the regulation, 
while Lewis' measure would levy a tax.  
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake