Updated on June 22, 2020. Medical content reviewed by Dr. Joseph Rosado, MD, M.B.A, Chief Medical Officer
Patients in Montana diagnosed with one of the following severe, debilitating, or life-threatening medical conditions, are afforded legal protection under the Montana Medical Marijuana law, as per Initiative 148:
On November 2, 2004, 62% of Montana voters approved Initiative 148, which removes state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of medical marijuana (also referred to as medical weed, medical pot or medical cannabis) by patients who possess written documentation from their physicians authorizing the medical use of marijuana.
Qualifying patients must register with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and obtain a medical marijuana card.
On June 1, 2011, Senate Bill 423 made significant changes to Montana’s existing medical marijuana law, changing the application process to require a Montana driver’s license or state-issued ID card — patients with a chronic pain diagnosis, require a second physician.
Some medical marijuana patients will claim they have a doctor’s prescription for medical marijuana, but marijuana prescriptions are in fact illegal. The federal government classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug. Therefore doctors are unable to prescribe marijuana to their patients, and medical marijuana patients cannot go to a pharmacy to fill a prescription for medical marijuana. Instead, medical marijuana physicians will supply patients with a medical marijuana recommendation in compliance with state law.
According to Montana medical marijuana law, patients and their caregivers may each grow and possess 4 mature marijuana plants, 12 seedlings, and 1 ounce of usable marijuana.
* Please note: The Montana Medical Marijuana Act does not allow for the purchase or sale of medical cannabis – caregivers must agree to supply cannabis to registered patients for free.
Patients meeting Montana medical marijuana qualifications are slowly beginning to benefit from the therapeutic qualities of cannabis. Even though many state legislators have been trying to repeal the state’s medical marijuana program since it was first approved in 2004, voters in 2016 approved a measure that would actually expand the program.
Instead of only being able to serve a maximum of three patients, dispensaries can now serve hundreds of them. If you would like more information on the medical marijuana program in Montana, such as how to obtain a medical cannabis card in the state, check back with MarijuanaDoctors.com on a regular basis.
Finally, a helpful & informative website! MarijuanaDoctors.com answered all of my medical marijuana questions and helped me schedule an appointment with an accredited doctor in my area.~Susan - Denver, CO