Montana AG Wants to Reverse MMJ Payment, Advertising Ruling

Medical marijuana businesses in Montana could be in for an abrupt shift in how they do business if Attorney General Tim Fox gets his way.

Fox on Wednesday filed an appeal with the aim of overturning a 2011 district court ruling that allows MMJ businesses to accept payment for cannabis and advertise their businesses, according to a Montana TV station.

Fox contends that none of those parts of the law were included in a state law approved by the Legislature in 2011 that reworked MMJ regulations first approved by voters in 2004. Also in 2011, Helena District Court Judge James Reynolds added “temporary provisions” to allow “providers” to advertise and accept payments, and those provisions were made permanent this January, the TV station reported.

Fox’s appeal argues that freedom of speech in advertising doesn’t apply to MMJ businesses because cannabis is still illegal under federal law.