“I’m very nervous about undoing people’s will. This really worries me .”
by Max Savage Levenson. Montana Free Press
After a passionate hearing on Senate Bill 556,, Thursday’s vote by the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee was 6-4 for the bill to be tabled.
Senator Keith Regier sponsored SB 546. Sen. Keith Regier (R-Kalispell) sponsored SB 546. This bill would have drastically altered and effectively dismantled Montana’s marijuana industry. It wanted to close all Montana adult-use dispensaries. It would have increased the state tax on medicinal marijuana from 4 percent up to 20 percent, and placed significant restrictions on medical marijuana potency as well as allowable possession amounts. The bill did not criminalize adult possession of marijuana. It only prohibited the sale of non-medical cannabis. It also reduced the number of mature plants that an adult can grow at their home to one, from two.
Three Republican members of the Republican Committee– Senate president Jason Ellsworth and Jason Small, Committee chair Jason Small, and Sen. Walt Sales-– joined all three Democratic members to reject the bill. The bill was then unanimously tabled by the committee.
Proponents of the bill raised concerns about marijuana potency and youth accessibility during Wednesday’s hearing as well as Thursday’s meeting.
SB 546 would have reduced the amount of THC allowed in medical marijuana flowers from 35 percent to 10%, and outlawed medical marijuana concentrates that contain more than 10% THC.
Dr. Kevin Sabet is co-founder and president the national anti-marijuana group Safe Approaches to Marijuana. He expressed concern about the strength marijuana concentrates that often contain around 90 percent THC. Montana law currently does not allow for a maximum potency limit on marijuana concentrate products.
Sabet stated that you don’t need to use marijuana products with 90 percent potency unless you are trying to intoxicate children. It’s not necessary. He said that it could lead to addicting people at work and causing crashes on the roads.
Opponents of the bill stressed that the voters sent a message to legislators in 2020, when they passed legalization initiative I-190 with a margin of 57%-43.
“I am very nervous about undoing people’s will. This really worries me,” Sen. During Thursday’s meeting of the committee, Willis Curdy (D-Missoula) stated this.
“I think it’s important not to make voters feel that their voice isn’t heard.” They then turn their backs on this whole process,” Kate Cholewa, Montana Cannabis Industry Association, said Wednesday during the hearing.
Regier mentioned this concern in his opening remarks about the bill.
He noted that there have been many instances where the will of voters has been reversed. He cited two examples of voter initiatives that were overturned by courts and not legislators.
Additionally, opponents argued that SB546 would have eliminated hundreds more jobs in the industry, created an illicit market, and prevented millions of dollars of tax revenue from the state.
The chairman of the committee, Small, acknowledged his support for parts of the bill during Thursday’s vote but stated that it was too burdensome at this point in the session.
“There is some great stuff here, but it would take a lot of time to whip this thing into shape. He said that we can still take some of these ideas and move them along.”
This story was originally published by Montana Free Press at montanafreepress.org.
Kentucky Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill into Law
Marijuana Moment first published the post Montana Senators Pass Bill to Eliminate Recreational Marijuana dispensaries and Limit THC Potency.
1 year of retail marijuana sales: NM regulators now focus on compliance