The beginning of 2022 officially marks a major milestone in the decades-long effort to reform Montana’s cannabis policies. As of January 1, adults in Montana can now purchase cannabis from licensed retail stores across the state!

Yesterday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed House Bill 701, setting in motion a plan to begin legal marijuana sales in January 2022. 

The University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) released a study analyzing the potential economic benefits of legalizing and taxing marijuana. The researchers, led by BBER Director Dr. Patrick Barkey, project that Montana will generate $236 million in new revenue from marijuana sales by 2026. Click here to read the full report. The study anticipates a significant boost will come from tourists visiting Montana,…

Great news! Earlier today, the Montana Secretary of State announced that CI-118 and I-190, the two initiatives supported by New Approach Montana to legalize marijuana for adults, received enough signatures to appear on the ballot this fall.   When the pandemic hit earlier this year, some feared it would mean the end of this campaign. But the team persevered and overcame tremendous obstacles. Voters will now have the opportunity to enact a marijuana legalization policy that will create jobs, generate…

On Friday, July 17, we got an exciting update out of Big Sky Country: according to numbers tallied by local officials, BOTH legalization initiatives have received enough signatures to qualify for the statewide ballot this fall! That’s really good news. But leaders of the campaign are nervous about the potential emergence of a well-financed opposition effort assisted by groups like SAM. Winning in Montana is not going to be easy, and due to the challenges the campaign faced in the signature drive,…

Last Friday, New Approach Montana, a Helena-based marijuana reform campaign, submitted over 130,000 signatures from counties across the state in order to qualify two complementary marijuana legalization initiatives for the November 2020 ballot. Despite the severe impact of COVID-19, the campaign was able to reach its goals in time for the signature submission deadline.The campaign submitted over 52,000 signatures in support of I-190, a statutory initiative that would legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana…

Because COVID-19 caused major delays in the signature-gathering drive, New Approach Montana — the campaign working to pass two complementary ballot initiatives to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adults 21 and older in Montana — is in a race against time to qualify the constitutional initiative for the November ballot! The constitutional measure (CI 118), which would allow the minimum legal age for marijuana to be set at 21, needs just over 50,000 valid signatures to qualify. The statutory…

Sign your petitions from home to ensure legalization is on the November ballot! New Approach Montana is pulling out all the stops to get the signatures it needs to qualify adult-use legalization for Montana’s November ballot. Despite getting a late start due to the health crisis sweeping the nation, the campaign launched its signature drive on May 9, instituting a comprehensive set of public health protocols to limit contact between circulators and petition signers. And, earlier this week, the campaign…

On account of the COVID-19 pandemic, many campaigns have had to throw in the towel on qualifying state initiatives for the ballot this election cycle — but not New Approach Montana. Instead, the campaign, which MPP is helping to lead, has come up with innovative approaches for collecting signatures as it races against a deadline to qualify for the 2020 ballot.This includes a new opportunity for Montana voters: signing the petitions from home. Use the link below to download and print using your printer…

New Approach Montana, the political campaign working to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana in the state, announced the launch of a statewide signature drive starting this Saturday in support of two complementary marijuana legalization ballot initiatives. “The ballot initiative process is an integral component of democracy for half of all the states,” said Matthew Schweich, director of state campaigns for the Marijuana Policy Project, which is supporting the campaign. “Campaigns across the country…