Yes… and No.

When the 2021 legislature enacted HB 701 which implemented ballot initiative I-190 that was voted on by voters in the November 2020 general election, they made it such that if a county voted under 50% for the ballot measure they must re-vote in order to allow adult-use cannabis sales. Our petition is to allow Fergus County residents to vote to allow adult-use cannabis businesses with in Fergus County.

There is no evidence to suggest that counties that are permitted to allow adult-use cannabis have seen an increase in crime. In fact since 2021 when adult-use cannabis was enacted, crime has dropped significantly in some very important metrics. While it is obvious that cannabis related arrest and seizures are down significantly (62.2%), the same goes for opiods (such as heroin or illegal prescription drugs, 21.9%) and methamphetamine/stimulants (17.4%). Fergus County has not seen these drops in crime and has even had an increase in some cases.

This is certainly an option and many people are doing exactly that however that only accounts for retail storefront sales and misses out on 80% of the potential businesses. A recent article in the News-Argus (News-Argus Article) detailed how now our medical cannabis residents are starting to go out of the county to purchase their medication because they are not bound by medical restrictions (5 oz. in a rolling 30 day period) when purchasing at an adult-use dispensary in a green county.

All taxes collected are voluntary taxes imposed on the cannabis businesses and retail customers.Often times we will see references to the amount of tax collected by the Cannabis Control Division of the Montana Revenue Service. This tax is divided amongst a number of priority programs for the state and 50% goes in to the states general fund. The tax on retail sales of adult-use cannabis is 20% and that is paid completely by the person purchasing the cannabis. There are 4 other businesses that all contribute to the cannabis making it to the retail store. Cannabis is grown in Montana, products manafactured from it in Montana, lab testing is performed in Montana and cannabis is transported from location to location in Montana. Each one of these businesses also contribute to the taxes collected. In addition, Fergus County has the opportunity to add a 3% local option sales tax that goes directly to the county and its municipalities, this tax again is only paid by those involved in the cannabis related business transactions.

The adult-use cannabis industry is heavily regulated and products that make their way to the store front have gone through rigorous testing for potency (ensuring it is not too potent) and is guaranteed to be much more safe than what might be purchased off the street which might be laced with an unknown substance such as fentanyl. Alcohol, a similaly regulated product is much more widely available to children and really only accessible to them by theft, the same holds true with cannabis. It is the responsibility of the adult in the home to properly store their cannabis like they would their alcohol.

The American Medical Association recently published a study in its Pediatrics journal that neither adult-use marijuana legalization nor the opening of retail stores in U.S. states led to increases in youth cannabis use. Over time, it seems adult-use marijuana laws led to lower odds of any cannabis use. “Each additional year of RCL,” the study says, “was associated with 8% higher odds of zero cannabis use (lower likelihood of any use), with non-significant total estimates.” The opening of retail markets, meanwhile, was associated with 28% higher odds of zero cannabis use,” with each additional year of “RCR exposure” associated with 8 percent higher odds of zero cannabis use.

Absolutely not! Fergus County is currently allocated 3 dispensary licenses in total, two are currently in use and one is being held by a dispensary owner that has since shut their doors. Allowing adult-use cannabis businesses to operate in Fergus County means that if a rancher wants to grow some cannabis to supplement his income when there is a bad year for feed then that would be an option for them. If a school teacher would like to make some extra money during the summer by transporting cannabis then that is an option. A person could start manufacturing a wide variety of cannabis products or a testing lab could be opened to ensure Fergus County cannabis is the right cannabis for our community. The main point is that there are many different types of cannabis businesses other than dispensaries.