It is legal to sell/buy marijuana in Montana?
Adult-Use Marijuana Laws for both recreational and medicinal use was passed on January 1, 2022.
Individual limits?
Adults 21 and over may possess and use up to one ounce of marijuana with no criminal penalties.
Adults may cultivate up to two mature marijuana plants and two seedlings for private use in a private residence, subject to certain restrictions. Yes, we will sell live plants for you to grow at home!
**
Can you smoke marijuana in public?
Marijuana consumption and possession (including medical marijuana) remains prohibited in public and certain other locations. It is prohibited under federal law on all federal lands and waters. Marijuana (except medical marijuana) is prohibited in hospitals and other health care facilities.
Are there be limits on the THC content in adult-use marijuana products?
Yes. The total psychoactive THC of marijuana flower may not exceed 35%. These limits do not apply to sales by licensed medical marijuana providers to medical marijuana cardholders.
Edible adult-use marijuana products: up to 10 mg of THC per serving, up to 100 mg of THC in an entire package.
Topical products: no more than 6% THC, no more than 800 mg of THC per package. Capsule, transdermal patch or suppository, may contain no more than 100 mg of THC, and no more than 800 mg of THC in an entire package.
Will medical marijuana and recreational marijuana be available?
Yes. A licensed recreational marijuana provider and licensed medical marijuana dispensary may operate in a shared location. A single entity may also be licensed for both medical and recreational marijuana. Medicinal Consumers Providers Dispensaries Purchase, Consumption and Possession Medical Marijuana Laws in Montana Residents 18+ with a medical marijuana card can purchase cannabis from a dispensary, have it delivered by registered providers, or grow their own. Those under 18 can get ID cards but must identify a parent/legal guardian as their provider. A registered patient who has no provider may possess up to one ounce of usable cannabis as well as 4 mature plants and 12 seedlings. Providers must be Montana residents, obtain business licenses, undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks. A provider or marijuanainfused products provider may possess a “canopy” of 30 square feet for each registered cardholder who has named the person as his or her registered provider.
Is the marijuana tested?
The state has three laboratories to test medical marijuana. Cannabis is tested for moisture, content potency, contaminants, microbes, heavy metals, pesticides, residual solvents, and mycotoxins.
HOW MUCH MARIJUANA CAN I PURCHASE AT A TIME?
Customers will be able to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana per transaction, or the THC equivalent in other forms: 800 milligrams of edibles or 8 grams of concentrate.
Customers are not limited to a single type of product, and can mix and match up to the limit between different forms.
WILL MY PURCHASE BE TAXED?
Yes. All recreational marijuana purchases will be subject to a flat 20% sales tax.
HOW LATE CAN DISPENSARIES STAY OPEN?
Per House Bill 701, recreational and medical marijuana businesses cannot open before 9 a.m. or stay open past 8 p.m.
AN I DRIVE WITH MARIJUANA IN MY VEHICLE IN MONTANA?
Yes, but there’s a huge caveat: It must be in its unopened, original packaging and stored outside of the car’s “passenger area.” In other words, it’s required to be, per HB 701, either (a) in a locked glove compartment or storage compartment; (b) in a trunk, luggage compartment, truck bed or cargo compartment; (c) behind the last upright seat of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk; or (d) in a closed container in the area of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk and that is not normally occupied by the driver or a passenger.
The law notes that a person convicted of the offense of unlawful possession of a legally permitted quantity of marijuana in a motor vehicle “shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100.”
IS IT LEGAL TO DRIVE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MARIJUANA?
No. Driving under the influence of marijuana can result in a DUI-D. Per HB 701, law enforcement officers have the jurisdiction to stop anyone driving erratically. If the officer has “probable cause to believe” the driver is under the influence of marijuana — i.e., if they can smell marijuana in the car, or the driver’s eyes are red — they can transport the driver to a hospital to administer a DUI test. Refusing a blood test can result in a temporary suspension of a driver’s license.
A DUI can be served to anyone with more than 5 ng of THC (the most common psychoactive compound in marijuana) per milliliter of blood. Yet since marijuana can stay in a consumer’s body for up to three weeks, the results of such a test may not provide definitive information on whether the driver was actually under the influence of marijuana at the time of their arrest.
CAN I POSSESS OR CONSUME MARIJUANA ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS IN MONTANA?
This question is extremely complicated and contingent on how federal marijuana laws may be enforced in Indian Country, as well as how each tribe approaches the question of marijuana legalization. Marijuana remains a Schedule 1 controlled substance under federal law, even though it is legal in the eyes of the state.
But, as state Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, explained, “tribes have limited criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians.” Asked if tribal courts would prosecute marijuana possession or public consumption charges, he suggested “probably not,” but acknowledged that federal law enforcement remains “a wild card.”
Morigeau recommends playing it safe. “Be familiar with the landscape,” he said. “You’re not on state land, but in a different territory. Be mindful of that framework.”
CAN I POSSESS OR CONSUME MARIJUANA IN NATIONAL PARKS?
No. Since national parks, including Glacier and Yellowstone, are federal land, the federal prohibition of marijuana remains in effect there as well. Getting caught with marijuana in a national park can lead to a misdemeanor charge.
As the cannabis news outlet Leafly points out, even visitors to national parks from states with legal marijuana who get charged with possession in a national park can be subject to urine tests even after they return home to their legal-marijuana state.
Representatives of both Glacier and Yellowstone national parks declined to “speculate how the park might deal with a potential influx of cannabis consumers.”