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Billings voters reject recreational marijuana stores within city limits

A worker packages medical marijuana in San Francisco in 2006. City prosecutors say they'll clear thousands of marijuana convictions.
Justin Sullivan
/
Getty Images
A worker packages medical marijuana in San Francisco in 2006. City prosecutors say they'll clear thousands of marijuana convictions.

Billings voters appear to have opposed a measure allowing recreational dispensaries within city limits.

Unofficial election results show 55% of Billings voters were against the dispensary ordinance, and about 45% were in favor.

The Billings City Council last week tentatively approved a new ordinance regulating marijuana sales in the city.

Yellowstone County, however, already decided to allow recreational dispensaries when Montana’s new state law goes into effect on Jan. 1. Voters on Tuesday overwhelmingly supported a local 3% tax on recreational sales, in addition to the 20% sales tax the state will collect.

A local 3% sales tax on medicinal marijuana also passed, with 60% of voters in favor.

Missoula County voters also appear to have approved a local 3% tax on recreational marijuana, once sales are legal next year.

As of around 10 p.m. Tuesday night, more than 78% of votes approved of the additional tax on recreational sales. A similar proposed tax on medical marijuana in the county was narrowly failing.

Nadya joined Yellowstone Public Radio as news director in October 2021. Before coming to YPR, she spent six years as digital news editor/reporter for the NPR affiliate in Wichita, Kansas, where her work earned several Kansas Association of Broadcasters awards and a regional Edward R. Murrow award for Excellence in Social Media. Originally from Texas, Nadya has lived and worked in Colorado, Illinois, Washington, D.C.; and North Dakota. She lives in Billings with her cat, Dragon, and dog, Trooper, and enjoys hiking, crocheting, and traveling as often as possible.