As of January 1, 2021, it is no longer illegal to possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use in Montana. However, there are still a number of questions before any legal sales take place.

New polling data reveals that majorities of Democratic, Republican, and Independent voters support legalizing recreational marijuana for adults.

Prohibitionist forces in three states have filed lawsuits to block cannabis legalization initiatives that were approved by voters in this month’s election.

Montana made recreational cannabis legal this past election, and now, they’ve begun the process of licensing, already looking ahead to the future of the recreational industry. 

State says recreational marijuana license won't be available for a year

If you thought Montana's approval of recreational marijuana means you can start legally selling pot right away, the state says not so fast.

Voters approved a pair of initiatives on Election Day, a step which most have seen as opening the door to legal and possible legislative challenges which must be resolved first.

And now the Montana Department of Revenue is saying even absent any legal roadblocks, there's a "lot of work to do" before the state will make licenses available to legally sell non-medical marijuana.

Director Gene Walborn said the state is starting the process of setting up that system, but he doesn't expect the first licenses will be issued until October 1st next year.

The legalization of recreational marijuana in Montana brings a new industry to the state. While it does bring a change to the state's economy agriculture, experts say it won't impact the agriculture industry.

Northern Ag Director Colter Brown says we probably won’t be seeing acres of planted marijuana across the state, but farmers have started taking notice.

“It’s certainly grabbed a lot of attention, and farmers are looking for anything to generate a profit. They always are, but I don’t think it’ll be marijuana," says Brown.

The nation may not know who is president on election day, but the people have spoken when it comes to cannabis legislation. Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota have all legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older, as voters in each state approved their respective ballot initiatives at the ballot box. The Garden State has gone green as the closely watched state of New Jersey approved adult-use cannabis.

A pair of complementary ballot initiatives which together would legalize recreational marijuana use in Montana for adults were approved on Tuesday's ballot, the Associated Press reported.

I-190 creates rules for marijuana use, including a 20% tax and the option for individual counties to prohibit dispensaries.

CI-118 amended the Montana Constitution to allow the state to set the minimum buying age to 21.

Both measures needed to pass for recreational use to become legal.

The push for marijuana legalization was headed by New Approach Montana, a group founded in January 2019 by Ted Dick and Pepper Petersen.

Montana’s voters have the chance to legalize marijuana for adult use on November 3. If voters approve reforms in the upcoming election, a new industry could generate tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue. More importantly, it will begin to reverse the lasting damage of prohibition, including horrendous racial injustices.