The Daily Interlake
Five years ago, 57% of Montana voters spoke loud and clear when they legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older. Shockingly, state Sen. Greg Hertz has proposed legislation — SB 255 — that would dramatically erode Montana’s voter-enacted cannabis legalization initiative, I-190, and recriminalize most cannabis consumers.
Under I-190, the state is not authorized to require or record personal information beyond verifying a consumer’s age. However, SB 225 would force adults over the age of 21 to pay a $200 annual registration fee to obtain a state-issued card from the Department of Revenue in order to legally purchase, possess, and consume cannabis. Further, only Montana residents could register.
Summary
Revise recreational marijuana laws to require a marijuana identification card
This outrageous bill also mandates that adult-use consumers must carry this identification card “in their immediate possession at all times,” putting anyone in possession of cannabis without their card at risk of penalties, even if they are otherwise compliant with the law. Consequently, this proposal would re-criminalize most cannabis consumers who would not pay $200 to get on a government list of cannabis consumers and have their purchases tracked.
No cannabis legalization state in the country requires adult-use consumers to enroll in a government database simply to exercise their legal rights. And although alcohol is far more dangerous than marijuana — and its chronic health effects cause 117,000 deaths per year in the U.S. — no state requires you to register and pay a fee to buy alcohol. And the bill doesn’t include this costly and intrusive registration for those who enjoy alcohol. At least not yet.
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