16-12-514. Health care facility procedures for patients with marijuana for use. (1) (a) A health care facility as defined in 50-5-101 shall take the following measures when a patient who is a registered cardholder has marijuana in the patient’s possession upon admission to the health care facility:

Terms Used In Montana Code 16-12-514

  • cardholder: means a Montana resident with a debilitating medical condition who has received and maintains a valid registry identification card. See Montana Code 16-12-102
  • Cultivator: means a person licensed by the department to:

    (a)plant, cultivate, grow, harvest, and dry marijuana; and

    (b)package and relabel marijuana produced at the location in a natural or naturally dried form that has not been converted, concentrated, or compounded for sale through a licensed dispensary. See Montana Code 16-12-102

  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Manufacturer: means a person licensed by the department to convert or compound marijuana into marijuana products, marijuana concentrates, or marijuana extracts and package, repackage, label, or relabel marijuana products as allowed under this chapter. See Montana Code 16-12-102
  • Marijuana: means all plant material from the genus Cannabis containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or seeds of the genus capable of germination. See Montana Code 16-12-102
  • Medical marijuana: means marijuana or marijuana products that are for sale solely to a cardholder who is registered under Title 16, chapter 12, part 5. See Montana Code 16-12-102
  • Medical marijuana dispensary: means the location from which a registered cardholder may obtain marijuana or marijuana products. See Montana Code 16-12-102
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC

(i)require the patient to remove the marijuana from the premises before the patient is admitted if the patient is able to do so; or

(ii)make a reasonable effort to contact the patient’s cultivator, manufacturer, or medical marijuana dispensary, court-appointed guardian, or individual with a power of attorney, if any.

(b)If a patient is unable to remove the marijuana or the health care facility is unable to contact an individual as provided in subsection (1)(a), the facility shall contact the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction in the area where the facility is located.

(2)A cultivator, manufacturer, or medical marijuana dispensary, court-appointed guardian, or individual with a power of attorney, if any, contacted by a health care facility shall remove the marijuana and deliver it to the patient’s residence.

(3)A law enforcement agency contacted by a health care facility shall respond by removing and destroying the marijuana.

(4)A health care facility may not be charged for costs related to removal of the marijuana from the facility’s premises.