Global Ganja Report

On Jan. 21, more than 100 people came out to Montana's capitol building in Helena for hearings on on what the state's new medicinal cannabis policy should look like. Ironically, a bill pending in the state house is opposed by cannabis advocates as well as those who want to repeal the 2004 state ballot initiative that legalized medical use.

The Obama administration opposes legalizing marijuana and views medical marijuana dubiously as well, said Kevin Sabet, special adviser for policy at the Office of National Drug Control Policy. "Marijuana cannot be the one exception in history of the world that doesn’t go through a scientific process to be approved as medicine," Sabet told the Montana Supreme Court Administrator's annual drug court conference in Helena. “It doesn’t make any sense. “How can we imagine that a dangerous, illegal drug like marijuana should be voted on by the people? That’s not how we do medicine in this country.”

US biotech firm Cannabis Science, Inc.  reports that Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer visited its latest acquisition, Montana Pain Management in Missoula, June 17. Governor Schweitzer reportedly praised the project; "You are doing it right."

The Montana Caregivers Network is traveling the state in "cannabis caravans," setting up shop in local hotels, where patients can walk in, see a doctor and—if they qualify—get a medical marijuana recommendation for a $150 fee. "You're helping end suffering on this planet for human beings," said mobile clinic organizer Jason Christ.

The Montana Board of Medical Examiners found that Whitefish physician Dr. Patricia Cole's past work with medical marijuana patients "amounts to unprofessional conduct" and ordered her to pay a $2,000 fine in a May 21 decision.

A Montana lawmaker is calling for a bill to overturn the state's 2004 medical marijuana initiative in the next legislative session. State Sen. Jim Shockley (R-Victor), said that the law is flawed because it provides no control over dosage, distribution, or growing.

Medical marijuana advocates in Montana are condemning recent arson attempts against two local dispensaries. Two separate attempts to set fire to medicinal cannabis dispensaries occurred last week in Billings. At both locations, the words "Not in Our Town" were spray-painted on the storefronts. These acts of intimidation come as the city is considering a temporary ban or moratorium on new dispensaries, in order to allow for the development of a regulatory ordinance.