Montana Governor Rejects Bill To Let Tribes Negotiate Marijuana Regulations With State

*“There’s tribes in the state that are wanting to move forward with
manufacturing or processing, testing, distribution.”*

*By Alexander Lekhtman, Filter*

A Montana proposal that would have allowed tribal nations to negotiate
cannabis regulation individually will not be enacted this session. Gov.
Greg Gianforte (R) vetoed the bill on June 19, calling it “unnecessary and
duplicative.”

House Bill 952 sought to address cannabis industry barriers that tribes in
Montana have faced since 2021, when the state enacted HB 701. That bill
limits each tribe’s licensed cannabis operations to a single location, no
more than 1,000 square feet and at least 150 miles outside reservation
boundaries.

HB 952 would have removed these restrictions and instead authorized each
tribe to work out their own regulatory terms with the state, tailored to
their own needs. It was modeled after cannabis compacts used by federally
recognized Native American tribes in Washington state, according to the Montana
Free Press.

“While I appreciate the intentions of the bill sponsor, [regulatory]
authority already exists under the State-Tribal Cooperative Agreements
Act,” Gianforte stated in a June 20 letter explaining his veto. “I also
have serious concerns about the bill’s potential impact on tribal
sovereignty and self-determination, as well as the government-to-government
relationship between the State of Montana and tribal nations. By channeling
negotiations through a new statutory process, House Bill 952 may constrain
the scope and flexibility of negotiations, introduce unnecessary
bureaucratic hurdles and impose State priorities on tribal nations.”

The bill was sponsored by Representative Frank Smith (D), a longtime member
of the Montana American Indian Caucus. This was the final legislative
session before retirement for Smith, who first took office in 1999.

Montana began sales of adult-use cannabis in 2022. But the industry is
divided into a patchwork of “green” counties, which voted in favor of
legalization, and “red” counties, which voted against it. Sales in red
counties are automatically banned, unless the county decides to opt in.

“There’s tribes in the state that are wanting to move forward with
manufacturing or processing, testing, distribution,” Red Medicine LLC
Cofounder Patrick Yawakie, who helped draft HB 952, told the Montana Free
Press and ICT in a joint interview earlier in 2025. The bill would have
ensured “that there’s an opportunity for them or clarity whenever they come
to the table with the state to maintain compliance with state regulations.”

Yawakie said during that interview that the bill would also help tribes
restrict access to cannabis, among those that wish to do so.

Gianforte has issued 42 vetoes this session, 10 of which are pending
override, according to the Montana Free Press; a two-thirds majority is
required to undertake that vote. One of the 10 vetoes that could
potentially be overturned is for a bill for allocating cannabis tax
revenue. As of June 19 the legislature is in the process of conducting the
veto-override vote by mail, as the session has adjourned.

Gianforte’s vetoes have been largely budget-related, with steep cuts that
he claimed in a June 20 letter are necessary to protect constituents from
unnecessary spending.

“The budget I received from the legislature wasn’t as fiscally responsible
as the one I proposed,” he wrote. “We have an obligation to be good
stewards of taxpayer resources, regardless of whether we are in more
promising fiscal times or more challenging fiscal times. Protecting
taxpayers requires us to make tough decisions, prioritizing what is
necessary over what would be nice to have.”

*This article was originally published by Filter, an online magazine
covering drug use, drug policy and human rights through a harm reduction
lens. Follow Filter on Bluesky, X or Facebook, and sign up for its
newsletter.*

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*Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.*

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Regulations With State appeared first on Marijuana Moment.