Montana Medical pot industry group asks judge to block law

By Matt Volz Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- Medical marijuana patients and their health providers urged a judge Monday to block a new law that will eliminate commercial pot operations, saying they will have problems obtaining the drug after this month. A medical marijuana industry group has called the new law unconstitutional and asked Helena District Judge James Reynolds for an injunction before July 1, when pot providers will be barred from making a profit and limited to providing marijuana to just three patients. The new law also places additional checks on conditions for qualifying for the drug and on the doctors who certify medical marijuana patients. State attorneys say the law will scale back an out-of-control industry while leaving seriously ill patients with access to the drug. But some patients and their loved ones say it will just force them to make illegal purchases by shutting down legitimate resources. "The more I read about it the more absurd it is. They're just trying to eliminate marijuana in Montana," said Charlie Hamp, 79. Hamp testified that his wife Shirley, 78, stirs a medical marijuana tincture into her morning coffee at home in Bozeman as a way to relieve the pain after her esophagus was removed and replaced with the lining of her stomach. Charlie Hamp isn't sure whether his wife will still be able to get that tincture from her provider after July 1, or whether the provider will be in business at all. Neither one of them knows how to make the tincture, nor do they want to ask their daughter and son-in-law to do it for them. Montana Cannabis Industry Association attorney James Goetz said the main problem with the law is it will deny patients like Shirley Hamp access to medical marijuana. But it also will intrude upon the doctor-patient relationship and allow warrantless searches of patients and providers, he said. "Marijuana, while not completely harmless, is remarkably safe. It has proven medicinal qualities. If a Montana citizen, in consultation with his or her doctor, wishes to have access to medical marijuana, that person should have access without undue governmental restraint," Goetz said. Assistant Attorney General Jim Molloy defended the new law, saying it is in line with what voters intended when they passed the state's medical marijuana initiative in 2004. Seriously ill patients will still be able to grow the drug, hire a consultant to show them how, or have somebody grow it for them, he said. "This is a lawsuit, your honor, about preserving the commercial marijuana industry that sprung up in Montana beginning in about 2008," he said. The hearing is expected to last through Tuesday, and it was not clear whether Reynolds will immediately make a ruling. The judge said he wants to know what would happen to medical marijuana regulations in Montana if the new law is blocked. The Legislature passed its restrictive law in an attempt to rein in a booming medical marijuana industry that lawmakers say has been abused by recreational users and for-profit commercial entities. The bill's passage this spring coincided with a series of raids against medical marijuana distributors in which drugs, cash and weapons were seized, causing several providers to shut down. There are more than 30,000 medical marijuana users in Montana, with the start of the boom coinciding with a 2009 U.S. Department of Justice memo saying the federal government would not prosecute seriously ill patients who are following their states' medical marijuana laws. The number of people between 18 and 30 claiming chronic pain as the qualifying condition to become a medical marijuana patient -- about 30 percent of the total number of users in Montana -- indicates the users are not simply those with debilitating illnesses, Molloy said. Medical marijuana users as a percentage of total adult population in Montana compared to other states is another indicator that something is amiss, Molloy said. Just over 4 percent of Montana adults are registered users, compared to .76 percent in Hawaii, 1 percent in Michigan and 1.34 percent in Oregon, he said. "The situation is out of control, the Montana Legislature responded to it," Molloy said. Goetz said the law represents excessive governmental interference and that any law restricting rights must be scrutinized. To support his case, he called two patients, three doctors, a social worker and a Harvard professor as witnesses about marijuana's medicinal effects and the potential negative effects if the new law is allowed to take effect. Bozeman oncologist Jack Hensold said he recommends medical marijuana to about three or four cancer patients a month to help them deal with nausea and other effects of cancer treatments. He said he is concerned about the restrictions the law would impose and whether certain patients would be able to access the drug in the short term. Cancer patient Pointe Hatfield said buying his medical marijuana from a provider is not a convenience, it's a necessity. He tried to grow his own before, but the plants just died. That's why Hatfield, a 60-year-old Gardiner resident whose cancer is in remission, is worried how he will get his medical marijuana when a ban on commercial pot operations takes effect in Montana next month, patients and health officials told the judge. Hatfield said he can't understand why, if the state of Montana certifies him to use medical marijuana, he can't go buy that drug just like getting a prescription filled at pharmacy. "It's the same as going to the drug store for an aspirin," he said. Published: Wed, Jun 22, 2011