Montana Senate passes bill legalizing recreational marijuana

[Bootes Void]

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/550086-montana-senate-passes-bill-legalizes-recreational-marijuana

Montana’s Senate on Friday passed a bill to legalize recreational marijuana and direct taxes on the drug to support addiction treatment and conservation programs.

The bill passed out of the House earlier this month and was passed in the upper chamber by a 34-16 margin. It will go back to the House so it can approve the legislation with the Senate’s amendments.

Should the bill be signed into law, recreational marijuana sales would be taxed at a rate of 20 percent. Of the money raised, $6 million would go toward drug addiction programs, and 20 percent will go to conservation efforts. Other funds would also be directed to state parks, wildlife protection, veterans services, police training and more.

[TML]

This goes to show that this particular issue has broad bipartisan support: remember that even as voters in this state gave every single statewide Republican candidate decisive victories last year, they also voted for a ballot measure to legalize marijuana (in fact, this ballot measure even had majority support in 18 counties which voted for Republican statewide candidates at all levels).

[Interlocutor is just not there yet]

This isn't Utah or Alabama we're talking about. Like Alaska, Montana has been pro-weed for years now. In fact, I'm surprised it took them until 2020 to legalize recreational weed.

I don't see how this is much proof of anything, especially with Montana voters supporting the ballot measure a few months ago (Thereby making this legislation more just dotting i's and crossing t's). Because they didn't pull a South Dakota and have their governor give voters the finger?

I do like that they're allowing indoor growing. As well as allowing sales in the counties that supported the ballot measure, reversible only by ballot measure. If only that was included in California's framework.

[President Johnson]

Seems like the public has significantly moved on this issue within the last decade, similar to SSM.