Two competing plans to ask Montana voters to legalize and tax recreational marijuana are underway in the state. A group called MontanaCan is the latest initiative sponsor calling for a change in the state’s policies for marijuana.
MontanaCan is proposing a gross sales tax on the recreational drug of no more than 5 percent, and legal use of the drug for people 18 and older.
In a separate campaign, New Approach Montana is working on a ballot initiative pushing for a 20 percent excise tax on all recreational marijuana. That plan calls for the drug to be legal for those 21 and older.
The campaigns also offer different regulations on the drug’s production and distribution.
Both proposed initiatives are now before state officials for review, which is required before the Secretary of State’s Office can give the go-ahead to start collecting signatures in order to qualify for the 2020 ballot. Those signatures are due June 19.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, eleven states and the District of Columbia now have legalized small amounts of marijuana for adult recreational use.
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