Montana's voters may have had good intentions when they passed a law in 2004 to legalize medical marijuana, but the law has left too much to interpretation and has led to abuses, Gallatin County law-enforcement authorities say.
The primary problem is enforcement, they say. The statute is so vague, it leaves them scratching their heads when it comes to upholding it and leaves room for exploitation.
"The thing is totally out of control," Gallatin County Sheriff Jim Cashell said last week. "Everybody and their brother have a (medical marijuana) card. I think the people that voted for it had really terrific intentions, but now it's being taken advantage of because what's in the books can't be enforced. The problem is there is no regulation or verification."
Missouri River Drug Task Force agent Jim Veltkamp agreed. Forty or 50 issues have arisen that are not addressed by the law, he said.
For example, the question of possession. How much marijuana can a patient or caregiver have and where can they have it?
The law allows for each card-holding patient to grow six plants or a specified care-giver can grow six plants for them. But how big the plants are, how much they produce, how much of the drug a person can possess in public, whether the drug can be transported from one jurisdiction to another, where it can be smoked and where growers can legally obtain seeds or seedlings are all left open in the current law, Veltkamp said.
"If the only law about driving is that you have to do it safely, it wouldn't work," he said. "We have a lot of code about driving. A lot of things simply aren't addressed. My job is to enforce the law and the main thing is we need clarification."
Bozeman Police Chief Ron Price had a similar take on the law.
"The concerns here are not about the law but about clarity," he said. "Without clarity you run the risk of the perception of always being wrong. The clarity has to be there so officers can enforce it the way it was intended by the Legislature and the people."
Veltkamp also feels the law falls short in providing an oversight agency similar to those that enforce alcohol and gambling licenses.
"There's no oversight, no compliance checks," Veltkamp said.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services keeps tabs on medical marijuana use in the state, so there are also concerns about what information DPHHS can release to law enforcement authorities because of medical-record privacy laws.
"There are a lot of people who are trying to obey the rules," Cashell said. "But what are the rules?"
Calls for repeal, reform
Medical marijuana dispensaries that follow Montana's laws are legitimate, law-enforcement officials agreed.
But Veltkamp suggested that making marijuana a true prescription drug, dispensed by pharmacies like other pharmaceuticals, would help. But that would require federal regulation.
"Right now it's like hiding the pharmacies," Veltkamp said.
Because of the law's shortcomings, it either needs to be changed or repealed, County Attorney Marty Lambert said last week.
"Montanans had compassion for persons with a great deal of pain and that's what was on their mind when they voted," he said. "There are a small number of sufferers that can benefit from the drug, but nobody knew that there would be people, particularly men aged 21 to 30, getting marijuana given to them legally like candy.
"Montanans did not pass the law so young men can claim they're in chronic pain and lawfully now get stoned all day or to allow mass drug abuse," Lambert said.
Having recently returned from a gathering of county attorneys where the medical marijuana law was discussed, Lambert said there's a wide range of opinions as to how the Montana Legislature should address the issue.
"There will probably be some changes, but that will only be putting a Band-Aid on an open wound and that misses the point," he said. "It is a fundamentally flawed law that should be repealed."
Essentially nobody is satisfied with the law as it stands, defense attorney Chuck Watson said.
"I have yet to hear any cop say anything negative about the program except that the law needs more structure so they can do their job," he said.
No crime spree
In Kalispell, five people allegedly beat a man to death with hammers in April to get his medical marijuana.
Two marijuana facilities in Billings were firebombed in May.
In July, two Bozeman medical-marijuana facilities were burglarized.
But violent crime does not appear to be on the rise in Gallatin Valley since medical marijuana was legalized, law-enforcement officials said.
Like jewelry or liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries may attract burglars, Cashell said.
"You've got these places full of marijuana plants, they're going to be a target," he said.
But, he added, because marijuana has become so easily accessible, it may actually reduce marijuana-related crime.
The firebombings in Billings "were about intolerance," said Watson, who has counseled people opening medical marijuana facilities.
Such individuals are "not talking about money laundering," he said. "They're talking about business plans, incorporating, accountants, contracts -- they're talking about business."
He always recommends marijuana dispensaries have proper security, including motion detectors, cameras, a safe and deadbolts on the doors.
Concerns that legal marijuana operations attract gangs are also unfounded, authorities said.
When John Banthem, who authorities claim was the president of a fledgling Outlaw motorcycle gang in Livingston, was arrested along with 26 others nationwide, the indictment said Banthem told an undercover agent that "every member of the Montana chapter has a medical marijuana card and access to high grade marijuana."
But Brad Beyersdorf, spokesman for U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said, "I'm not sure you can make that correlation between medical marijuana laws and increased gang activity. There are instances where people have taken advantage of those laws (in other states) but not necessarily in Montana."
Concerns for youngsters, federal funds
Bozeman police officer Trent Schumacher is one of two school resource officers for the city. He said he is concerned by proliferation of medical marijuana use and the perceptions it triggers in high school and middle school students.
When a drug is decriminalized, which he said this law has done, it makes it more acceptable.
Like alcohol, "it is fulfilling the folklore that it's OK," he said. "There's an open acceptance now and we're not sure how to deal with it."
Unlike booze, figuring out whether a teen has marijuana in his system requires a blood test, which in turn requires a search warrant. Schumacher does not envision writing search warrants to do a blood draw on every kid he suspects has been smoking marijuana, so unless he finds paraphernalia or the drug itself on a student, he can't charge them with possession.
However, school administrators can toss a student out of school for being high because it is against the rules, he said.
The drug is also prohibited on Montana State University campus -- smoking or possessing it -- even if the person has a medical marijuana card, Chief Robert Putzke said.
But university police will go easy on a student the first time he or she is found with marijuana, he said.
"We realize students may not understand the rules so they are referred to the dean of students" who explains why the drug, though legal in the state, is not permitted on campus.
Possessing marijuana is still against federal law and allowing it on campus could potentially jeopardize the federal funding for both the school and its students - particularly federally subsidized student loans, Putzke said. So, the regents instituted the rule about eight weeks ago.
"We didn't see a big upswing (in marijuana use) here," he said. "But we were concerned there would be."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Author: JODI HAUSEN
Contact: The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Copyright: 2010 The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Website: Medical marijuana laws too vague, law enforcement, lawyers say
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
The primary problem is enforcement, they say. The statute is so vague, it leaves them scratching their heads when it comes to upholding it and leaves room for exploitation.
"The thing is totally out of control," Gallatin County Sheriff Jim Cashell said last week. "Everybody and their brother have a (medical marijuana) card. I think the people that voted for it had really terrific intentions, but now it's being taken advantage of because what's in the books can't be enforced. The problem is there is no regulation or verification."
Missouri River Drug Task Force agent Jim Veltkamp agreed. Forty or 50 issues have arisen that are not addressed by the law, he said.
For example, the question of possession. How much marijuana can a patient or caregiver have and where can they have it?
The law allows for each card-holding patient to grow six plants or a specified care-giver can grow six plants for them. But how big the plants are, how much they produce, how much of the drug a person can possess in public, whether the drug can be transported from one jurisdiction to another, where it can be smoked and where growers can legally obtain seeds or seedlings are all left open in the current law, Veltkamp said.
"If the only law about driving is that you have to do it safely, it wouldn't work," he said. "We have a lot of code about driving. A lot of things simply aren't addressed. My job is to enforce the law and the main thing is we need clarification."
Bozeman Police Chief Ron Price had a similar take on the law.
"The concerns here are not about the law but about clarity," he said. "Without clarity you run the risk of the perception of always being wrong. The clarity has to be there so officers can enforce it the way it was intended by the Legislature and the people."
Veltkamp also feels the law falls short in providing an oversight agency similar to those that enforce alcohol and gambling licenses.
"There's no oversight, no compliance checks," Veltkamp said.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services keeps tabs on medical marijuana use in the state, so there are also concerns about what information DPHHS can release to law enforcement authorities because of medical-record privacy laws.
"There are a lot of people who are trying to obey the rules," Cashell said. "But what are the rules?"
Calls for repeal, reform
Medical marijuana dispensaries that follow Montana's laws are legitimate, law-enforcement officials agreed.
But Veltkamp suggested that making marijuana a true prescription drug, dispensed by pharmacies like other pharmaceuticals, would help. But that would require federal regulation.
"Right now it's like hiding the pharmacies," Veltkamp said.
Because of the law's shortcomings, it either needs to be changed or repealed, County Attorney Marty Lambert said last week.
"Montanans had compassion for persons with a great deal of pain and that's what was on their mind when they voted," he said. "There are a small number of sufferers that can benefit from the drug, but nobody knew that there would be people, particularly men aged 21 to 30, getting marijuana given to them legally like candy.
"Montanans did not pass the law so young men can claim they're in chronic pain and lawfully now get stoned all day or to allow mass drug abuse," Lambert said.
Having recently returned from a gathering of county attorneys where the medical marijuana law was discussed, Lambert said there's a wide range of opinions as to how the Montana Legislature should address the issue.
"There will probably be some changes, but that will only be putting a Band-Aid on an open wound and that misses the point," he said. "It is a fundamentally flawed law that should be repealed."
Essentially nobody is satisfied with the law as it stands, defense attorney Chuck Watson said.
"I have yet to hear any cop say anything negative about the program except that the law needs more structure so they can do their job," he said.
No crime spree
In Kalispell, five people allegedly beat a man to death with hammers in April to get his medical marijuana.
Two marijuana facilities in Billings were firebombed in May.
In July, two Bozeman medical-marijuana facilities were burglarized.
But violent crime does not appear to be on the rise in Gallatin Valley since medical marijuana was legalized, law-enforcement officials said.
Like jewelry or liquor stores, marijuana dispensaries may attract burglars, Cashell said.
"You've got these places full of marijuana plants, they're going to be a target," he said.
But, he added, because marijuana has become so easily accessible, it may actually reduce marijuana-related crime.
The firebombings in Billings "were about intolerance," said Watson, who has counseled people opening medical marijuana facilities.
Such individuals are "not talking about money laundering," he said. "They're talking about business plans, incorporating, accountants, contracts -- they're talking about business."
He always recommends marijuana dispensaries have proper security, including motion detectors, cameras, a safe and deadbolts on the doors.
Concerns that legal marijuana operations attract gangs are also unfounded, authorities said.
When John Banthem, who authorities claim was the president of a fledgling Outlaw motorcycle gang in Livingston, was arrested along with 26 others nationwide, the indictment said Banthem told an undercover agent that "every member of the Montana chapter has a medical marijuana card and access to high grade marijuana."
But Brad Beyersdorf, spokesman for U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said, "I'm not sure you can make that correlation between medical marijuana laws and increased gang activity. There are instances where people have taken advantage of those laws (in other states) but not necessarily in Montana."
Concerns for youngsters, federal funds
Bozeman police officer Trent Schumacher is one of two school resource officers for the city. He said he is concerned by proliferation of medical marijuana use and the perceptions it triggers in high school and middle school students.
When a drug is decriminalized, which he said this law has done, it makes it more acceptable.
Like alcohol, "it is fulfilling the folklore that it's OK," he said. "There's an open acceptance now and we're not sure how to deal with it."
Unlike booze, figuring out whether a teen has marijuana in his system requires a blood test, which in turn requires a search warrant. Schumacher does not envision writing search warrants to do a blood draw on every kid he suspects has been smoking marijuana, so unless he finds paraphernalia or the drug itself on a student, he can't charge them with possession.
However, school administrators can toss a student out of school for being high because it is against the rules, he said.
The drug is also prohibited on Montana State University campus -- smoking or possessing it -- even if the person has a medical marijuana card, Chief Robert Putzke said.
But university police will go easy on a student the first time he or she is found with marijuana, he said.
"We realize students may not understand the rules so they are referred to the dean of students" who explains why the drug, though legal in the state, is not permitted on campus.
Possessing marijuana is still against federal law and allowing it on campus could potentially jeopardize the federal funding for both the school and its students - particularly federally subsidized student loans, Putzke said. So, the regents instituted the rule about eight weeks ago.
"We didn't see a big upswing (in marijuana use) here," he said. "But we were concerned there would be."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Author: JODI HAUSEN
Contact: The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Copyright: 2010 The Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Website: Medical marijuana laws too vague, law enforcement, lawyers say
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
