Montana Cannabis History

As of 2021, the passage of Initiative 190 allows Montana residents age 21 and older to possess, use, and grow up to 1 ounce of marijuana.

Montana was an early adopter of medical marijuana legislation, legalizing its use by patients with debilitating medical conditions in the Montana Medical Marijuana Act and Senate Bill 423, which later replaced the voter-passed initiative with new requirements for the cultivation, manufacture, and possession of marijuana for use by people with debilitating medical conditions.

Montana Child-Resistant Packaging Rules

Montana medical and recreational cannabis packaging must be labeled in accordance with state law, and adhere to the following regulations:

37.107.401 LABELING OF MARIJUANA ITEMS

(1) Prior to marijuana items being sold or transferred to a registered cardholder the container holding the usable marijuana items must have a label that has the following information:
(a) licensee business or trade name and licensee registration number;
(b) date of harvest of marijuana or date the marijuana item was manufactured;
(c) name of strain or marijuana item (common or usual name);
(d) net weight or volume in U.S. customary and metric units;
(e) concentration by weight or volume of THC, THCA, CBD, and CBDA; and
(f) unique identification number.
(2) Labels must include a consumer warning that states:
(a) "For use by Montana Medical Marijuana Program registered cardholders only. Keep out of reach of children.";
(b) "It is illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana."; and
(c) "This product is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat, cure, or prevent any disease."
(3) If the marijuana item has passed required testing, the licensee must include on the label: "This Product Has Been Tested and Meets the Quality Assurance Requirements of the State of Montana."
(4) Licensees with ten or fewer registered cardholders who are not required to submit marijuana items for testing and have not submitted marijuana items for testing must include on the label: "This Product Has Not Been Tested for compliance with Quality Assurance Requirements of the State of Montana."
(5) Additional labeling requirements for marijuana topicals, ointments, suppositories, and other marijuana products not intended to be administered orally must include:
(a) "DO NOT EAT" in bold capital letters; and
(b) a list of ingredients in descending order or predominance by weight or volume used to process the product.
(6) Additional labeling requirements for edible marijuana products and tinctures must include:
(a) "BE CAUTIOUS" in bold capital letters, followed by "This product can take up to two hours or more to take effect";
(b) if the marijuana item is perishable, a statement that the marijuana item must be refrigerated or kept frozen;
(c) list of potential major food allergens;
(d) a "contains" statement to summarize the major food allergen information at the end of or immediately adjacent to the ingredient list; or
(e) a statement of the appropriate major food allergen in parenthesis within the ingredient list after the common or usual name of the ingredient derived from that major food allergen.
(7) Additional labeling requirements for marijuana concentrates and extracts must include:
(a) "DO NOT EAT" in bold capital letters;
(b) extraction method and solvent.
(8) Labels required by these rules must:
(a) be placed on the container and on any packaging, that is used to display marijuana items for sale or transfer to a registered cardholder;
(b) be in no smaller than eight point Times New Roman, Helvetica, or Arial font;
(c) be in English; and
(d) be unobstructed and conspicuous.
(9) Marijuana items may have one or more labels affixed to the container or packaging if necessary.
(10) Licensees may use a peel-back or accordion label with the required information if the peel-back or accordion label can be easily identified by a registered cardholder as containing important information.
(11) A label may not:
(a) contain any untruthful or misleading statements; or
(b) be attractive to minors. For the purpose of this rule, "attractive to minors" means packaging, labeling and marketing that features:
(i) cartoons;
(ii) designs, brands, or names that resemble a non-cannabis consumer product of the type that is typically marketed to minors;
(iii) symbols or celebrities that are commonly used to market products to minors;
(iv) images of minors; or
(v) words that refer to products that are commonly associated with minors or marketed by minors.
(12) If a marijuana item is placed in a package that is being reused, the old label or labels must be removed and it must have a new label or labels.
(13) Exit packaging must contain a label that reads: "Keep out of the reach of children.”

For more information, please refer to Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services Notice No. 37-820.

Useful Links for Montana Cannabis Regulations

Montana Summary of Changes to Medical Marijuana Laws
Constitutional Initiative 118, I-190’s necessary companion
Montana Dept. of Health Medical Marijuana General Information
Montana Medical Marijuana Timeline

Montana Cannabis Growers Application

Montana Cannabis Growers Online Application Portal
Montana Cannabis Growers Application Quick Guide for Providers

Editor's Note: Status as of 4/1/2021

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Cannabis Rules & Regulations: Montana

Montana Cannabis History

Montana Child-Resistant Packaging Rules

Useful Links for Montana Cannabis Regulations

Montana Cannabis Growers Application