A judge has cleared the way for Montana’s medical marijuana dispensaries to reopen– after a three-month hiatus– ruling that a drafting error in a voter-approved ballot initiative should not delay the measure’s implementation.  District Judge James Reynolds ruled Wednesday the error that pushed back the effective date of a key portion of the initiative should not keep very ill patients from accessing the drug immediately.
The initiative approved by voters last month struck down a law passed by the Montana Legislature in 2011 that limited medical marijuana providers to three patients each.  The three-patient limit took effect Aug. 31 after a five-year court battle, forcing the closure of medical marijuana dispensaries across the state and leaving thousands of registered users without providers. The authors of the ballot measure, the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, had intended for the three-patient limit to be struck down immediately upon passage of the initiative

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