Montana Gov. Signs Bill Extending Moratorium on Cannabis Licenses

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) on Tuesday signed legislation extending the state’s moratorium on cannabis licenses for another two years, KTVH reports. Under the law, the moratorium only allows medical cannabis companies that were licensed as of 2020 to obtain adult-use licenses. 

The measure does include language that will allow 16 medical cannabis providers to join the state’s adult-use market, which had been in limbo due to the timing of the adult-use licensing process and the first moratorium.

Gianforte also signed a bill allowing the state’s tribes to expand their medical cannabis operations in the same way as other businesses that hold cannabis licenses in the state. Each of the state’s eight tribes was guaranteed one cannabis license; however, state regulators determined that, because of the way the law was worded, those licenses would be limited to a very small cultivation area. The bill signed by the governor clarifies those rules.  

The legislation also increases the licensing fees for businesses that operate multiple dispensaries from $5,000 for each dispensary to $5,000 for the first, $10,000 for the second, and a $5,000 for each additional location.  

Additionally, the bill includes provisions requiring that any physician who certifies more than 39 patients for medical cannabis cards in a single year undergoes a review by the state.