Montana The Latest State To Begin Recreational Marijuana Sales

Montana became the latest state to sell legal recreational marijuana, with its law going into effect on New Year’s Day.

While Montana residents adopted the law on Election Day in 2020 with 57% of the vote, the state legislature-passed law, which came a year later, includes provisions limiting where in the state the substance can be purchased. Under the law, those in “green counties,” where a majority of residents voted in favor in 2020, are allowed to sell the drug for recreational use, while those in “red counties,” where a majority of residents voted against legalization, are not, according to the Montana Department of Revenue.

Red county vendors are not able to sell recreational marijuana, unless they put the matter up to a county-wide vote and a majority of residents support the provision, according to the department. Licenses are required for both the sale and use of the substance.

Anyone in the state 21 years old or older can own up to one ounce of the marijuana, and residents can grow up to two mature plants at a time.

Montana is just the latest state in the past year to legalize the drug for recreational use and begin sales, and it is one of 18 states where it is legal. Legislation legalizing marijuana was adopted in Connecticut, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Virginia in 2021, though not all states have begun sales, and it remains illegal on the federal level.