A Republican lawmaker is seeking to put an end to dispensaries selling recreational cannabis in Montana with a bill he filed on Friday, reported Montana Free Press.
Senate Bill 546 from state Sen. Keith Regier (R), is designed to amend the state’s marijuana retail market by “eliminating adult-use dispensaries” and banning recreational marijuana sales.
The measure also aims to raise the state tax on medical cannabis from 4% to 20% as well as to drastically lower the potency of cannabis products and amounts that can be legally possessed.
The Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee are scheduled to hold a legislative hearing on Wednesday, March 29, Sen. Jason Small, (R), the committee’s chair, said.
If the bill becomes law, Montana’s cannabis market would generate less than half as much tax revenue over the same period.
“If SB 546 passes, it would render the entire cannabis program worthless, not only for the operators but also for consumers and patients in the state,” Zach Block, the owner of Montana Canna, a dispensary in Kalispell, told the news outlet. “You’d be delivering a subpar product to a small group of people and you’re ignoring the majority of the worthy demographic.”
Montana officially became the 14th state to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2020. Fifty-eight percent of voters said yes to the initiative during the November election making the possession and use of one ounce or less of cannabis or eight grams or less of marijuana concentrate by adults…
