Judge rules medical marijuana providers can be prosecuted

A federal judge in Missoula ruled Jan. 20 that federal drug laws trump Montana's medical marijuana law.

U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy dismissed a civil lawsuit brought by 14 individuals and businesses who were among the two dozen medical marijuana providers raided by federal agents in March last year.

The plaintiffs claimed the raids had violated their constitutional rights, citing the 2004 citizens initiative that led to Montana's Medical Marijuana Act.

Molloy, however, ruled that the plaintiffs could be prosecuted under the federal Controlled Substances Act. He cited a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that applied the U.S. Constitution's supremacy clause to medical marijuana cases.

"Whether the plaintiffs' conduct was legal under Montana law is of little significance here, since the alleged conduct clearly violates federal law," Molloy said. "We are all bound by federal law, like it or not."

The plaintiffs had also argued that U.S. Justice Department officials had said they wouldn't prosecute medical marijuana providers who complied with state laws. They cited a 2009 memo by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden.

Molloy, however, pointed out that the Ogden Memo clearly said complying with state law did not prevent people from being prosecuted under federal law.

"A reasonable person, having read the entirety of the Ogden Memo, could not conclude that the federal government was somehow authorizing the production and consumption of marijuana for medicinal purposes," Molloy said.

The plaintiffs' attorneys had not decided whether to appeal Molloy's ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

According to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the number of registered medical marijuana providers sharply declined from 4,650 in May 2011 to less than 400 by the end of December after the Montana Legislature passed more stringent regulations for the new industry.

Columbia Falls was one of the few cities in Montana that allowed medical marijuana businesses to operate. Other cities and towns applied urgency zoning or cited federal law to prevent the businesses from operating inside their city limits.