16-12-203. (Effective January 1, 2022) Licensing types -- requirements -- limitations -- activities. (1) (a) Subject to subsection (3) and this subsection (1), the department shall issue a license to or renew a license for a person who is applying to be a cultivator, manufacturer, medical marijuana dispensary, adult-use dispensary, or testing laboratory if the person submits to the department:
(i) the person's name, date of birth, and street address on a form prescribed by the department;
(ii) proof that the natural person having day-to-day operational control over the business is a Montana resident;
(iii) a statement, on a form prescribed by the department, that the person:
(A) will not divert to any other person the marijuana that the person cultivates or the marijuana products that the person manufactures for consumers or registered cardholders, unless the marijuana or marijuana products are sold to another licensee as part of a sale of a business as allowed under this section; and
(B) has no pending citations for violations occurring under this chapter or the marijuana laws of any other state or jurisdiction;
(iv) the street address of the location at which marijuana, marijuana concentrates, or marijuana products will be cultivated, manufactured, sold, or tested; and
(v) proof that the applicant has source of funding from a suitable source. A lender or other source of money or credit may be found unsuitable if the source:
(A) is a person whose prior financial or other activities or criminal record:
(B) poses a threat to the public interest of the state;
(C) poses a threat to the effective regulation and control of marijuana and marijuana products; or
(D) creates a danger of illegal practices, methods, or activities in the conduct of the licensed business.
(b) If the person to be licensed consists of more than one individual, the names of all owners must be submitted along with the fingerprints and date of birth of each owner having at least a 5% controlling beneficial ownership interest.
(c) Nonindividuals who apply for the issuance of a marijuana business license shall disclose to the department the following:
(i) a complete and accurate organizational chart of the marijuana business disclosing the identity and ownership percentages of its controlling beneficial owners;
(ii) whether the applicant has ever filed for bankruptcy;
(iii) whether the applicant has ever been a party to a lawsuit, either as a plaintiff or defendant;
(iv) any financial interests held by the applicant in another marijuana business in any state;
(v) if the controlling beneficial owner is a publicly traded corporation, the controlling beneficial owners' managers and any beneficial owners that directly or indirectly beneficially own 5% or more of the owner's interest in the controlling beneficial owner;
(vi) if the controlling beneficial owner is not a publicly traded corporation, the controlling beneficial owner's managers and any beneficial owners that directly or indirectly beneficially own 5% or more of the owner's interest in the controlling beneficial owner;
(vii) if the controlling beneficial owner is a natural person, the natural person's identifying information;
(viii) a person that is both a passive beneficial owner and a financial interest holder in the marijuana business; and
(ix) any financial interest holder that holds two or more financial interests in the marijuana business or that is contributing over 50% of the operating capital of the marijuana business.
(d) The department may request that the marijuana business disclose each beneficial owner and affiliate of an applicant or marijuana business or each controlling beneficial owner that is not a publicly traded corporation.
(e) An applicant or marijuana business that is not a publicly traded corporation shall affirm under penalty of perjury that it exercised reasonable care to confirm that its passive beneficial owners, financial interest holders, and qualified institutional investors are not persons prohibited pursuant to this section or otherwise restricted from holding an interest under this chapter. An applicant's or marijuana business's failure to exercise reasonable care is a basis for denial, fine, suspension, revocation, or other sanction by the department.
(f) An applicant or marijuana business that is a publicly traded corporation shall affirm under penalty of perjury that it exercised reasonable care to confirm that its passive beneficial owners, financial interest holders, and qualified institutional investors are not persons prohibited pursuant to this section, or otherwise restricted from holding an interest under this chapter. An applicant's or marijuana business's failure to exercise reasonable care is a basis for denial, fine, suspension, revocation, or other sanction by the department.
(g) This section does not restrict the department's ability to reasonably request information or records at renewal or as part of any other investigation following initial licensure of a marijuana business.
(2) The department may not license a person under this chapter if the person or an owner, including a person with a financial interest:
(a) has a felony conviction or a conviction for a drug offense, including but not limited to, a conviction for a violation of any marijuana law in any other state within the past 5 years and, after an investigation, the department finds that the applicant has not been sufficiently rehabilitated as to warrant the public trust;
(b) is in the custody of or under the supervision of the department of corrections or a youth court;
(c) has been convicted of a violation under 16-12-524 or of making a fraudulent representation under the former medical marijuana program administered by the department of public health and human services;
(d) is under 21 years of age;
(e) has failed to:
(i) pay any taxes, interest, penalties, or judgments due to a government agency;
(ii) comply with any provisions of Title 15 or Title 16, including the failure to file any tax return or report;
(iii) stay out of default on a government-issued student loan;
(iv) pay child support; or
(v) remedy an outstanding delinquency for child support or for taxes or judgments owed to a government agency;
(f) has had a license issued under this chapter or a former medical marijuana license revoked within 3 years of the date of the application; or
(g) has resided in Montana for less than 1 year.
(3) Marijuana for use pursuant to this chapter must be cultivated and manufactured in Montana unless federal law otherwise allows for the interstate distribution of marijuana.
(4) Except as provided in 16-12-209, a cultivator, manufacturer, medical marijuana dispensary, or adult-use dispensary shall:
(a) prior to selling marijuana or marijuana products, submit samples to a testing laboratory pursuant to this chapter and administrative rules;
(b) allow the department to collect samples of marijuana or marijuana products during inspections of licensed premises for testing as provided by the department by rule; and
(c) participate as required by the department by rule in a seed-to-sale tracking system established by the department pursuant to 16-12-105.
(5) (a) A person licensed under this section may cultivate marijuana and manufacture marijuana products for use by consumers or registered cardholders only at one of the following locations:
(i) a property that is owned by the licensee; or
(ii) with written permission of the property owner filed with the department when applying for or renewing a license, a property that is rented or leased by the licensee.
(b) No portion of the property used for cultivation of marijuana or manufacture of marijuana products or marijuana concentrate may be shared with or rented or leased to another licensee.
(c) Marijuana or marijuana products may not be consumed on the premises of any licensed premises.
(6) A cultivator licensed under this chapter in accordance with licensing requirements set forth in this chapter and rules adopted by the department:
(a) may operate adult-use dispensaries;
(b) may engage in manufacturing; and
(c) may not engage in outdoor cultivation of marijuana, except as provided in 16-12-223(6).
(7) A cultivator or manufacturer:
(a) may contract or otherwise arrange for another party that is licensed to process a cultivator's or manufacturer's marijuana into marijuana products and return the marijuana products to the cultivator or manufacturer for sale; and
(b) except as allowed pursuant to 16-12-207, may not open a dispensary before obtaining the required license and before the department has completed the inspection required under this chapter unless permitted to do so pursuant to 16-12-207.
History: En. Sec. 9, I.M. No. 190, approved Nov. 3, 2020; amd. Sec. 51, Ch. 576, L. 2021.