Legislative Changes in Montana Adds New Department

Earlier this year the Montana State Legislature convened and hashed out new bills that would eventually become law within the state.  And since it has been a few months since the last gavel fell, you may have missed a couple of new things coming from the big building in Helena.

via GIPHY

New divisions combining alcohol and marijuana are coming, and new laws when into effect beginning on October 1, 2025.  New sampling for marijuana growers is also happening across the state.

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Legislative Changes in Montana Adds New Department

As part of the new legislation, two separate divisions will now become one with a new name.  The Cannabis Control Division and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division have merged to become the Cannabis and Alcohol Regulation Division (CARD).

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The new division is still being rolled out to the public, with the MDOR indicating that a new logo and website design will be forthcoming.  Normal operations within the two divisions will remain basically unchanged.

New Law Taking Effect October 1 for Third Party Relationships in Montana

Senate Bill 74, which passed legislation in Montana earlier this year deals with third party relationships and is effective now in the state.  The bill wording and law is as follows:

“A licensee may contract or otherwise engage a third party to perform work on behalf of any aspect of a marijuana business. All third-party relationships must be disclosed to the department before a third party can begin performing work on behalf of any aspect of the marijuana business. An individual performing work for any aspect of a marijuana business must secure a worker permit pursuant to 16-12-226. A licensee is responsible for ensuring a third party is compliant with marijuana laws and is liable for any violations.”

Montana also has updated sampling of cannabis product for registered growers and sellers within the state: "After cannabis has been harvested and separated into 5-pound test batches, a sample from the source (parent) package is collected and transported to a licensed testing facility.  Product lab sampling must be conducted before subpackaging."  You can learn more about the updates here.