Montana
Montana lawmakers looking at possible future marijuana dispensary regulations
HELENA — Since the launch of Montana’s adult-use recreational marijuana system in 2022, the state has put limits on who can enter the market. Now, state lawmakers are looking at possibly extending the limits, but in a much different form.
Earlier this month, the Montana Legislature’s Economic Affairs Interim Committee held a preliminary discussion on several marijuana-related bills that could be proposed for the 2025 session. One would freeze the number of marijuana dispensaries and other facilities for two years.
Since the start of legal sales, Montana has had a moratorium, allowing only providers who had been licensed in the state’s medical marijuana system to join the recreational market. It was initially set to expire June 30, 2023, but the Legislature voted last year to extend it two more years.
While the number of licensees was limited, those providers were allowed to open additional “licensed premises,” including dispensaries. The proposed legislation – still in a very early form and subject to change – would prevent any business from adding a new licensed premise between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2027.
“This time, we’re talking about a freeze on all cannabis-related business location licensing, so no new growers, no new kitchens, no new storage facilities, no new dispensaries – they’re the part the public are really going to notice,” said Pepper Petersen, president and CEO of the Montana Cannabis Guild.
The committee referred to the proposal as an extension of the moratorium, but marijuana industry representatives said it’s essentially an entirely new policy, because it would remove the requirement that licensees be former medical providers. That would allow licensees to sell or transfer their businesses to new owners who haven’t previously been in the system.
Petersen said people in the industry understand that many Montanans feel there are enough – or too many – dispensaries in the state. He believes local governments should be taking more active steps to limit the growth of dispensaries through zoning or other regulations.
“We’ve suggested to local governments for two years or more now that they put a number of restrictions on when, where and how dispensaries can open,” he said.
Local governments like Cascade County have looked at ways to regulate marijuana businesses. Next month, the city of Missoula is set to hold a public hearing on a proposal to pause issuing business licenses for new dispensaries.
“When Missoula, Montana, one of the most liberal cities in the state – one of the most marijuana-friendly cities in the country – has said we’ve got too many dispensaries, that reverberates through the state Legislature,” Petersen said.
During the committee meeting, lawmakers also talked about putting together a bill draft to clarify what authority local governments have to put regulations on marijuana businesses. In addition, they looked at a “cleanup” bill to make some technical changes to marijuana laws, as well as a proposed resolution to support the federal SAFER Banking Act, which would allow legal marijuana businesses to access banking services. The committee is set to take a closer look at all of the proposals, including potential amendments, at a meeting in August.
The Montana Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at July 8, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from July 8 drawing
12-29-37-43-55, Powerball: 18, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lotto America numbers from July 8 drawing
17-26-31-32-37, Star Ball: 01, ASB: 02
Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Big Sky Bonus numbers from July 8 drawing
03-13-16-17, Bonus: 10
Check Big Sky Bonus payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from July 8 drawing
06-27-33-44-69, Powerball: 23
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Montana Cash numbers from July 8 drawing
08-16-17-22-27
Check Montana Cash payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from July 8 drawing
16-18-43-48-50, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Montana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 9 p.m. MT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky For Life: 8:38 p.m. MT daily.
- Lotto America: 9 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Big Sky Bonus: 7:30 p.m. MT daily.
- Powerball Double Play: 8:59 p.m. MT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Montana Cash: 8 p.m. MT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 9:15 p.m. MT daily.
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Great Falls Tribune editor. You can send feedback using this form.
HELENA, Mont — Gov. Greg Gianforte is backing a new effort to keep data centers from driving up Montanans’ power bills.
This week, Gianforte announced Montana is signing on to the Ratepayer Protection Pledge — an initiative endorsed by President Trump.
Several major technology companies like Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and XAI first signed the pledge back in March.
The pledge comes as data center development continues to grow — raising questions about how much new energy will be needed and who will pay for it.
NBC Montana spoke with Julia Haggerty, professor of geography and department head of earth sciences at Montana State University, about whether Montana’s power grid is ready for that growth.
“Not without resolution of significant transmission bottlenecks and massive amounts of new generation. So, while our grid is adequately, relatively adequately equipped to serve the needs of our current load base, it’s definitely not equipped to accommodate the new demands without a lot of expansion,” she said.
According to the pledge, data center developers will pay for new power generation, and infrastructure needed to support their operations.
“It does align with ongoing regulatory efforts to ensure that the cost of new generation associated with data centers is borne by the developers of those data centers and not customers,” Haggerty said.
The governor’s office says Gianforte’s support of the pledge is designed to encourage responsible data center investments while protecting Montana ratepayers from long-term costs.
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