Montana’s medical cannabis law remains under attack from conservative officials, even though a district court judge gave MMJ businesses and patients some relief in January.
Attorneys for the state are asking the Montana Supreme Court to overturn the ruling from earlier this year, which threw out several key provisions of a 2014 law that would have essentially killed off the MMJ industry.
The court will reportedly hear assess the arguments of both sides before determining how to move forward, according to the Daily Journal.
The key portions of the law that the district court judge tossed include a ban on selling MMJ for profit, a prohibition of medical cannabis advertising and a limitation of three patients per provider. That ruling paved the way for the state’s medical cannabis industry to continue operating, but the state is now hoping to squash it.
The fight has been going on since 2011, when the restrictions were first passed into law. The issue has been tangled up in the courts since then.
The uncertainty has had a major effect on the MMJ market in Montana. Since 2011, the number of registered patients has shrunk from around 30,000 to about 12,000 as of last month.
In recent times, however, the industry has rebounded in some areas of the state.
