Montana House Committee Approves Update to State’s Adult-Use Cannabis Framework

A Montana House committee on Friday approved a bill to update the state’s adult-use cannabis regulatory framework, the Independent Record reports. The legislation was the work of lawmakers from both parties that started in the 2021 session.    

The regulatory update bill passed by the House Business and Labor Committee would move the regulation of testing laboratories from the state Department of Public Health and Human Services (HHS) to the Department of Revenue. The change follows adult-use legalization in the state which moved the medical cannabis program from HHS to the revenue department, the report says.  

The legislation will also allow about 30 medical cannabis providers who have been stalled to enter the adult-use space. Following the passage of adult-use cannabis laws in 2020, Montana lawmakers put a moratorium on new business licenses until 2023 hoping to prevent multistate operators from taking over the market. The measure extends that moratorium until 2025 but would open licenses for some current operators.  

Under the state’s adult-use law, any company that applied for a cannabis license after the 2020 election could only be approved for a medical cannabis license – the proposal moves that cut-off to Dec. 31, 2021 which would allow several companies to apply for an adult-use license.