Montana regulators preparing rules ahead of recreational marijuana launch

The first day of adult-use marijuana sales in Montana will be Jan. 1, 2022. Montana Department of Revenue leaders say they’re confident that they’ll be ready for that important date, but there’s a lot of work to do over the next two months.

“The deadlines are aggressive,” said Kristan Barbour, administrator of the department’s Cannabis Control Division. “Really, the rules are our biggest challenge.”

Last week, Revenue released their first extensive package of proposed rules for recreational marijuana businesses. They include 15 new sections, with the most notable including:

• Laying out procedures and fees for getting a license to grow, sell or transport marijuana, to manufacture marijuana products or operate a testing lab.
• Establishing requirements for marijuana labeling, including THC content, warnings and a triangular symbol with a marijuana leaf.
• Setting policies for “exit packaging” – the package a marijuana product is placed in after it is sold at a dispensary. It must be child-resistant and not designed in a way that would attract children.

Barbour says the department plans to bring out another set of rules as soon as this week, covering things like inspections and enforcement. [Read more at KTVH]