Montana high court tosses challenge to adult-use marijuana measure

The Montana Supreme Court quickly dismissed a last-minute lawsuit seeking to remove a recreational cannabis legalization initiative from the Nov. 3 ballot.

The suit, filed by a group called Wrong for Montana, argued the taxation and regulation initiative violated the state’s constitution.

The Montana Supreme Court shot down the legal challenge, saying in its ruling that the group had “wholly failed to establish” why the matter was taken directly to the state’s highest court instead of being litigated first in lower courts.

“This was an easy decision for the Montana Supreme Court,” Dave Lewis, policy adviser to New Approach Montana, backer of the adult-use initiative, noted in a news release.

“At best, this lawsuit was a frivolous long shot. At worst, it was an intentional effort to create confusion right before the election.”

A recent Montana State University poll showed that residents support recreational marijuana by a 49% to 39% margin, with 10% undecided.

The University of Montana recently projected that an adult-use market will generate sales of more than $200 million in its first full year.