Montana dispensaries, regulators prepping for recreational marijuana sales – Cannabis Business Executive

There are now less than six months until Montana’s first legal recreational marijuana sales – set to begin on Jan. 1, 2022. That has both marijuana providers and state regulators hurrying to get ready for the major change.

Thomas Swanson, manager of Collective Elevation Helena, said he’s been thinking about how to make the transition from medical sales to adult-use sales since voters approved Initiative 190 last November. He said the state has been reforming marijuana laws every two years, so providers have gotten used to change.

“With this industry, you have to adapt or die,” he said. “You have to keep swimming.”

After weeks of debate, the Montana Legislature passed House Bill 701, which completely overhauls the recreational marijuana framework that had been set up in I-190.

It allows medical marijuana providers that were operating before Nov. 3, 2020, to start selling to all adults 21 and over on Jan. 1 – but only if they are in one of the 28 counties where most voters supported the legalization measure. Once those providers’ licenses come up for renewal, they will have to get a new adult-use license for recreational sales.

For the first 18 months – through July 1, 2023 – only existing medical providers will be able to join the recreational market. [Read more at Missoula Current]