Marijuana dispensaries in Montana will not have to pay higher licensing fees after the state and business owners agreed to a legal settlement.
Montana’s initial legal framework for marijuana dispensaries laid out a flat $5,000 annual license fee for each location a business owned. But a new bill, passed in the 2023 session, added a cumulative fee increase. Instead of the flat rate, businesses would be charged $5,000 for the first dispensary, $10,000 for the second, $15,000 for the third and so on.
Earlier this year, three dispensary chains sued, arguing the bill overstepped law requiring the state only collect enough in fees to fund its industry oversight. Businesses said the new law resulted in licensing fees costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Granite Peak Holdings, which operates Elevated dispensaries, said in legal documents licensing for its 10 locations would have risen from $50,000 to $280,000 a year.
In a consent judgment attorneys for the state and dispensaries agreed to go back to the old, flat-rate fee structure, determining it provided enough funds for the state to administer its duties.
The court also ordered the Department of Revenue to refund any fees paid under the voided cumulative fee structure.
