Montana's legal cannabis market is scheduled to open for business on Jan. 1. With just days remaining before that deadline, lawmakers have been scrambling to dot the final i's and cross the final t's in the market's regulations.
In early December, Montana legislators hit pause on the rule-making process for the state's legal cannabis market. That came after Montana voters overwhelmingly — 57 percent to 43 percent — passed an initiative in 2020 that set the ball rolling on cannabis legalization in the state. Legalization goes into effect Jan. 1, and broad rules governing the legal market were established in May when Gov. Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 701 into law.
Questions with how to interpret the specifics of HB 701 led to disagreements and ultimately brought a halt to the process.
"I would say that trying to pass a comprehensive rules package that is on a key piece of legislation that affects everyone in Montana is a very difficult task. We have to be precise, in our wording, phrasing, and it's very important to get that accurate. We only get one opportunity at this, and we need to make sure that we get it right," state Sen. Jason Ellsworth told The Daily Montanan.
Some of the concerns came down to specific wording. Can "marijuana" be used on warning labels, or should the term "cannabis" be required instead? Other sticking points included business fees and the schedule on which they must be paid, regulations surrounding laboratory testing, and differing regulations on commercial and tribal cannabis processors.
The road from being signed into law in May to being implemented on the ground on Jan. 1 has been a bumpy one for HB 701. Just last month, the Montana Department of Revenue was forced to walk back a pair of rules that lawmakers protested as going against the spirit of HB 701. Those now-struck rules included a ban on CBD products from being sold at dispensaries and overly restrictive criminal history requirements for dispensary employees.
Now, with the finish line in sight, it appears HB 701 has cleared its final hurdle. Last week, the committee dealing with the issues approved revisions to the rules that should allow the market to open Jan. 1 as scheduled. ♦
