Judge rules against medical marijuana restrictions

District Judge James Reynolds of Helena permanently blocked several provisions of the state’s medical marijuana law on Jan. 2, including the ban on advertising and the prohibition against commercial sale for profit.

The latter provision forced medical marijuana cardholders to grow their own marijuana. The provisions Reynolds struck down had never taken effect either because the judge earlier had blocked them or because the state had agreed not to enforce them.

Reynolds struck down provisions that restrict a medical marijuana provider from assisting more than three people licensed by the state to obtain legal marijuana or marijuana-infused products without them being paid.

He also ruled against the requirement that the state provide the Board of Medical Examiners with the names of any physician who wrote certifications for medical marijuana for 25 or more patients within a 12-month period. Such notice would have required the physician to pay for an automatic review of his practices by the Board of Medical Examiners.

Reynolds ruled in the state’s favor by letting stand a provision allowing the state Department of Public Health and Human Services and state and local law enforcement agencies to make unannounced inspections of medical marijuana providers during normal business hours.

He also blocked enforcement of a provision forbidding people under probation or under the supervision of the Department of Corrections from being able to obtain marijuana cards.

Montana voters in 2004 passed an initiative that legalized the use of marijuana for people with certain medical conditions. The Montana Legislature passed a more restrictive medical marijuana law in 2011 after seeing a vast increase in Montanans applying for medical marijuana cards starting in mid-2009.

The Montana Cannabis Industry Association and several individuals challenged the 2011 law shortly after its passage claiming it was unconstitutional, and the Montana Attorney General’s Office has defended the law. Reynolds ruled on the case twice while the Montana Supreme Court has ruled on it once. It’s not clear yet whether Montana Attorney General Tim Fox will appeal Reynolds’ decision.