Montana Medical Marijuana Facts
Montana legalized medical marijuana in 2004 via Initiative 148, which passed with 62% of the vote. The Montana Department of Health began registering patients in January of 2005. Official medical marijuana facts for Montana indicate that as of March 2016, according to ProCon, there were 13,640 registered medical marijuana patients in the state. This is a significant number, a full 13.2% of Montana’s entire population. Registration is mandatory for patients to receive a Montana medical marijuana card.
Montana Medical Marijuana Facts
- Montana’s medical marijuana law recently changed in 2011 and replaced the caregiver category with the concept of a provider, who must be designated by the patient. At the time, statistics show that a majority of marijuana patients (19,039) had no provider.
- Since the start of the program, 68 patients have passed away.
- There are 378 providers and 356 doctors associated with current patients.
- The facts about Montana marijuana show that prior to the new amendments to the law, which went into effect in July 2011, there were 30,036 patients and 4,438 caregivers.
- The new medical marijuana rules caused a drop in registrations, resulting in the loss of over 5,000 patients. An even bigger drop occurred among caregivers/providers, which went from a peak of 4,438 to just 378 between June and September 2011.
- However, in 2016, voters approved another amendment to Montana’s medical marijuana program. This re-established the caregiver program and also expanded the number of qualifying conditions for which patients could obtain medical cannabis. The list now includes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- In addition, patients suffering from chronic pain no longer are required to go to multiple physicians to obtain a medical cannabis recommendation.
- The new amendment established licensing regulations for testing facilities as well as dispensaries, and it also allowed caregivers to aid more than three patients at the same time. While the law was not scheduled to take effect until June 30, 2017, a court ordered that certain provisions related to re-opening of licensed dispensaries take effect immediately.
- Many efforts have been made in recent years to either limit the state’s medical cannabis system or even kill it entirely. However, the new law is expected to finally provide a detailed system of licensing and inspecting dispensaries and other medical cannabis-related businesses as well as establishing clear protections for those who work in those businesses.
- One of the harsher aspects of Montana marijuana facts is that if someone who is not part of the medical cannabis program is caught possessing even a single joint, he or she could be sentenced to a jail sentence of up to six months. Anyone convicted of possessing 60 grams or more (an amount close to a little more than two ounces) could actually be sentenced to as long as five years in jail.
- There are more than 1,500 marijuana arrests in 2012, and 95 percent of them were for possession. There have been three times the amount of weed arrests in the state since 2003. During this same time frame, more than 85 percent of vehicle thefts and more than 90 percent of burglaries went unsolved.
Check back often with MarijuanaDoctors.com, and we’ll keep you updated on medical marijuana facts for Montana and the rest of the U.S.
Montana Marijuana Statistics and Facts: Program Growth Data
Date
|
Patients
|
Caregivers
|
Doctors
|
Mar-05 |
  86
|
 35
|
 69
|
Jun-05 |
 135
|
  49
|
  90
|
Sep-05 |
 156
|
 58
|
95
|
Dec-05 |
176
|
66
|
98
|
Mar-06 |
189
|
 67
|
100
|
Jun-06 |
222
|
 87
|
100
|
Sep-06 |
 252
|
 101
|
111
|
Dec-06 |
  287
|
116
|
  114
|
Mar-07 |
319
|
116
|
 118
|
Jun-07 |
368
|
139
|
121
|
Sep-07 |
428
|
 161
|
130
|
Dec-07 |
572
|
  194
|
145
|
Mar-08 |
 736
|
  233
|
 150
|
Jun-08 |
1,006
|
311
|
 158
|
Sep-08 |
1,119
|
 319
|
 157
|
Dec-08 |
1,577
|
465
|
  171
|
Mar-09 |
2,074
|
 640
|
 186
|
Jun-09 |
2,923
|
919
|
 202
|
Sep-09 |
 3,921
|
 1,403
|
 209
|
Dec-09 |
7,339
|
1,942
|
247
|
Mar-10 |
12,081
|
 2,797
|
295
|
Jun-10 |
19,635
|
  3,940
|
322
|
Sep-10 |
23,613
|
  4,463
|
 338
|
Dec-10 |
27,292
|
   4,807
|
359
|
Mar-11 |
 29,948
|
   4,848
|
 360
|
Jun-11 |
 30,036
|
  4,438
|
365
|
Sep-11 |
  24,821
|
  378
|
356
|