Montana voters first embraced medical cannabis reforms in 2004. The program experienced explosive popularity between 2009 and 2011, however, which prompted efforts from lawmakers to repeal and undo the program. Another successful voter initiative in November 2016 overruled lawmakers and renewed the program. The legislature passed the new tax in April 2017, which was designated to state regulators for setting up a seed-to-sale tracking (Metrc) and lab testing system and conducting site and shop inspections.

Senate Bill 265, passed in May 2019, implemented a series of changes to Montana’s medical cannabis program including eliminating a requirement that patients purchase cannabis only from a single dispensary. The state currently imposes a four percent sales tax on medical cannabis products and institutes a 5-ounce cap on the amount of usable cannabis a medical cannabis patient can purchase each month.

In August 2016 dispensaries closed their doors in response to new restrictions limiting each storefront to three patients. In December, there were just 8,125 registered medical cannabis patients. Patient counts have increased ever since, rising to nearly 55,000 as of September 2021, according to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. The percentage of Montana’s population registered now stands at about 3.7%, the third highest in the nation. There are 437 licensed dispensaries, 392 cultivators and 208 processors operating in the state.

The Montana Department of Revenue reported that the state’s medicinal cannabis sales totaled about $45 million in 2018 and increased to about $70 million in 2019.

On November 3, 2020, voters legalized the possession and use of cannabis for adults over the age of 21, imposing a 20% tax on cannabis sales with an additional local rate of 3%. In January 2022, Montana began selling recreational cannabis.

2022 brought in about $303 million with $93 million in medical and $210 million in recreational cannabis sales, while 2023 generated approximately $316 million, including $255 million in adult-use cannabis sales.

Montana Cannabis Market Infographics

Montana Hemp Industry