Marijuana sales now legal in Great Falls following judge ruling

Great Falls must now allow adult-use marijuana sales within city limits, a district court judge ruled earlier this week.

In June, owners of Green Creek Dispensary sued the city, arguing Great Falls contradicted new measures passed by the Legislature in 2021 by not processing a certificate the business needed to operate and claiming it went against a land-use ordinance.

Judge David Grubich agreed with the plaintiffs in his ruling, saying the language of the regulations, as well as the Legislature’s intent with House Bill 701, was “clear and unambiguous.”

Among other directives, HB 701 says local governments can ban dispensaries only in counties where the majority voted against adult-use marijuana sales, but Cascade County approved adult recreational use.

Cascade County is a “green county” under HB 701, meaning that a majority of voters in the county were in favor of adult-use marijuana when the issue appeared on the ballot in 2020. Counties that did not have majority voter support on marijuana, or later voted to opt-out, are considered “red counties.”

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