MISSOULA, Mont. - A Montana lawmaker plans to examine emerging legal problems concerning medical marijuana later this month when she calls together a legislative committee.
Rep. Diane Sands of Missoula is chairwoman of the Children, Families, Health, and Human Services Interim Committee.
The Democratic lawmaker said she wants the committee to help identify problems, prioritize them and develop a list for the 2011 legislative session.
One legal question is whether a patient or caregiver who lives within the 1,000-foot drug-free zone of a school is allowed to grow, use or possess medical marijuana.
The qualifications of who can be certified as a caregiver to distribute medical marijuana and who can receive it could also be discussed.
That's a concern for Missoula Police Chief Mark Muir.
"There's just no control over sales, over the amount of dosage that is given out, the amount of refills, the pricing of the product if the law, such as it is, is being followed, who is making sure patients are only getting their supply from one caregiver and caregivers aren't selling to people who aren't their card-carrying patient," Muir said.
"There's no control over any aspect of who can be a caregiver and who can be a patient. It's a joke. The law is so loose, it's no wonder the list of registered patients grows by the hundreds every month," he said.
According to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services, there are 10,582 Montana residents legally entitled to use medical marijuana, and 2,635 Montanans are legally allowed to provide the drug, as of March 7.
A year ago there were 2,074 patients and 640 caregivers.