FRENCHTOWN — Medical marijuana was legalized in Montana in 2004, and recreational sales began in 2022.
Montana State Cannabis online reports there are now over 400 dispensaries across the state.
MTN visited a shop in Frenchtown to see how growing a formerly illegal substance is paving the way for future farmers.
“All the fruit just goes by different strains, different aromas. No different than apples, there’s a million varieties,” said Madhouse Dispensary Brandon Madland owner who noted the fruit of cannabis — the flower — is unique.
“I really love the idea that like cannabis is, it's locally owned and grown,” he said.
Madland believes cannabis brings a new style of farming to Montana which he thinks can make a shift in the future of the agriculture industry.
“Ranching and farming has been a survival for the last 30 years in Montana. And I'm really hopeful that ... cannabis has its place to coexist. It's Montanans supplying Montanans with good paying jobs.”
The Montana Department of Revenue reports that sales between January 2022 and October 2024 totaled over $893 million and almost $148 million in taxes.
Madland says having a dispensary in Frenchtown keeps money in the area.
“So the dollars that I spend, I spend locally,” he said.
Since products are regulated by the state, he said, the "end result is something that I can put on a test sheet and show exactly what it is.”
That’s why Tony Swartz feels confident buying his cannabis in Frenchtown.
“It's local, you know where you're going and you're getting, you know that you're safe,” he said.
Marijuana is helping him reclaim his life after a traumatic brain injury, Swartz said.
“I'm the loudest and proudest dad, you know, and having the availability to be that, I wouldn't have it without cannabis,” he said.
“They get to go take care of their kids and they get to go watch the soccer game because the plants exist the way they do,” Madland said.
