State Backs Billing Ban on Medical Marijuana

The Gazette reports that state health department officials won’t issue new medical marijuana dispensary licenses within Billings city limits, amid ongoing legal disputes filed by two such local businesses. Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services officials met with city leaders last Wednesday to discuss municipal ordinances regulating medical marijuana distribution. Billings City Attorney Brent Brooks called it a matter of coordinating what the state will do with the city’s prohibition. The Billings ordinance says licensed businesses within city limits must comply with federal law, and marijuana– a federally illegal substance– should not be licensed. State law allows a local government to deny a medical marijuana provider license to any applicant, however additional bans to medical marijuana dispensaries under consideration by the Billings City Council failed to reach a final vote. Get the whole story online at billingsgazette.com.