Medical marijuana backers launch new Montana ballot measure

HELENA, Mont. – Advocates for medical marijuana in Montana have begun gathering signatures for an initiative that would ask voters to undo legislation limiting the use of the substance.

But backers of I-182 have just nine weeks to collect the 24,175 valid signatures needed to place the measure on the November ballot.

The “Yes on 182” campaign said during a news conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday that signature gatherers were already fanning out through the state.

Voters in 2004 legalized marijuana for medicinal use, but the law was rolled back by the 2011 Legislature. Earlier this year, the state Supreme Court upheld key provisions of the legislative changes.

If approved, the measure would lift the three-patient limit imposed on providers and establish licensing fees to pay for administering the program.