LEGAL BATTLE FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN MONTANA CONTINUES

Dear Members:

As some of you are aware, we are still mired down in the legal battle to keep medical marijuana available for patients with debilitating illnesses in Montana. MTCIA has been at the forefront of this war since the 2011 legislature overturned the voter-passed ballot initiative that legalized marijuana for medical use in Montana.

For the second time in 2 years our legal team is preparing to send arguments for permanent injunctions to the Montana Supreme Court. Those injunctions have allowed licensed medical marijuana providers to continue providing medical marijuana to registered cardholders with debilitating illnesses.

The future of medical marijuana in Montana hangs in the balance. Our legal team, the Goetz Law Firm, has issued legal briefs that brilliantly reflect the “irrationality” of the State’s arguments under the legal analysis of “rational basis”. The state’s cross-brief was vigorous in it’s depth. Mr. Goetz’s response in his cross-brief on our behalf must be equally vigorous and more convincing to the Montana Supreme Court Justices.

I am confident in Jim Goetz’s ability to convincingly argue our case before the Montana Supreme Court. He is the very best attorney that we could have hired to represent us in this matter. Because of the fact that our legal team employs a large staff of people to work in our behalf, the legal costs are high. We find ourselves in the very familiar position of soliciting donations to continue this legal battle.

If the Montana Supreme Court decides to allow oral arguments in this case, we may not see a decision until next year. The longer we are able to operate in a business-oriented manner without the doomsday problems predicted by the 2011 legislature, the better it will be for our industry. All the “chicken little” hysteria created by a few extremist lawmakers has evaporated and the community has begun to see the legislature as the real problem.

We must continue to support the efforts of our legal team and continue to conduct ourselves  as business professionals. We have the winning formula and we will persevere.

I am enclosing the pdf files of the briefs from both sides so that you will understand the depth of the arguments and the subsequent costs to maintain our legal battle.

Please join MTCIA in welcoming Justin Craig (Butte) and Bob Devine (Bozeman) as our newest board members.

2015-08-03 Appellant’s Reply-Resp Br to X-Appeal Appelles’ Response Brief Appendix to Appellees’ Response Brief

Yours in Solidarity,

Mort Reid

President, MTCIA