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Montana revenue officials brief lawmakers on cannabis regulation, enforcement gaps and hemp loophole
Summary
Department of Revenue officials told the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee that Montana's Cannabis Control Division licenses roughly 900 businesses and oversees 465 dispensaries, but inspectors and enforcement capacity lag rising market activity; officials highlighted a loophole for hemp‑derived intoxicants and pending litigation against synthetic product sellers.
Kristen Barber, administrator of the Montana Department of Revenue's Cannabis Control Division, told the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee that the division was created to implement the Montana Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act following Initiative 190 and House Bill 701.
Barber said the act set adult‑use tax at 20 percent and medical at 4 percent, with a local option sales tax up to 3 percent. "Sales from January 2022 through November 2024 were estimated to be over $920,000,000," she said, adding estimated tax collections for that period were about $152,000,000.
The division licenses cultivators, manufacturers, transporters, laboratories, dispensaries and more; Barber said the agency currently manages about 900 business licenses, more than 5,000 worker permits and a little over 14,000 registered medical cardholders. The program has 35 full‑time equivalent staff and a roughly $10.9 million program budget funded from state special revenue.
Barber described…
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