Montana wants to legalize cannabis in 2020

Supporters of a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adults in Montana said Monday that they had secured at least $3 million in funding to collect the signatures needed to put their initiative on the 2020 ballot.

«We are confident that we will be there for the vote,» said declared Pepper Petersen, from New Approach Montana. «I am very confident that we can get this initiative passed.»

New Approach Montana will be assisted by New Approach PAC, a Washington-based political action committee that has helped secure the passage of cannabis legalization measures in other states, and the Marijuana Policy Project, another activist group.

New Approach Montana could spend between 3 and 6 million dollars on the entire campaign. If cannabis is legalized in Montana, it could generate 30 million dollars in new tax revenue for the state.

The bill is still being drafted, but the proposed initiative will make it possible to legalize the use of cannabis for adults over the age of 21. The final draft is expected to be presented to government representatives before the end of November for review before it is approved, thereby launching the signature-gathering campaign.

However, the 21-year-old age limit cannot be adopted without amending the state constitution, which grants adult rights to individuals 18 years of age and older, unless otherwise specified. A constitutional amendment will therefore need to be approved by voters in 2020 to give the Legislative Assembly the authority to set the age limit for cannabis use at 21.

In Montana, an initiative requires 25,500 signatures from registered voters to be put on the ballot. If a separate constitutional initiative is to be put on the ballot at the same time, twice that number—nearly 51,000 signatures—is required. The signatures must be submitted to election officials by next June.

Petersen said that New Approach Montana will hold town hall meetings starting early next month to gather feedback from residents on what the measure should include.

The initiative's proponents also want to create a system that ensures Montana's current medical cannabis stakeholders play a key role in the recreational sector.

Graham Boyd, director of New Approach PAC, said Monday that the group was looking forward to working with the Montana group and that «our surveys show that a strong majority of Montana voters support this policy change.».