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Montana lawyers have wrapped up a series of meetings in Great Falls covering various issues facing the legal community, and one of the hottest topics is how the Medical Marijuana Act affects lawyers, and what changes they anticipate.

The medical marijuana debate is extremely complex, especially for some business and criminal attorneys who deal with cannabis cases almost everyday. But with very little guidance on the issue, many lawyers are running into problems.

At first glance, the marijuana issue might seem fairly simple; attorney Alanah Griffith of Bozeman noted, "Well, federal, it's illegal. In Montana it's legal for medical purposes."

But in reality, the issue is far more complex, especially for Montana attorneys.

Shane Vannatta, an attorney from Missoula, said, "Federal law still has medical marijuana, or marijuana as a Schedule 1 narcotic drug. Trying to work your way through these issues is incredibly detailed and difficult."

Law enforcement officers, landlords, and local governments are among the groups trying to decipher the law's gray areas, and of those issues were brought to light at the State Bar of Montana's annual meeting.

Vannatta stated, "The medical marijuana industry has really sprung up overnight. These are business owners. They have all of the same issues as the hardware store. We have employee issues, we have lease issues, we have a whole myriad of issues relating to operating this as a business."

But the problem is, the attorneys taking these cases have little to no resources when it comes to getting information or precedent, so many look to case law in other states to find some sort of understanding.

Griffith said, "Other than that, you use the dictionary, you look to your own interpretation to the law. You do the best that you can. A lot of times you tell your clients, 'I dont know, we will see'."

And they could be waiting until the 2011 Montana legislative session brings more clarity to the issue.

Griffith "Hopefully the Legislature will do something about the Act as it is, to help us attorneys and our clients become better able to understand the Act and actually set up these businesses legally."

Vannatta finished, "But until the Legislature acts, we are left with a variety of gray areas in the law."

Many of the lawyers I spoke with tell me that because of the legal complexities in the Medical Marijuana Act, most cases aren't even taken to trial, with some cases simply dropped, and others resulting in an agreement between the parties.
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