I-148 has been under attack, and our legislators are helping to lead the charge.

While our governor vetoed an outright repeal bill, we were left with a law that would essentially leave legitimate patients without safe access to their medicine or even to a doctor's recommendation. A bill that made providers provide medical cannabis for free, for no more than three people, after they are made to identify themselves to the federal government as a provider, via fingerprint and a background check submitted to the FBI.

To help fight this blatant attack on Montana's democratic process, the Montana Cannabis Industry Association emerged. This is a grass-roots organization fighting for the rights of patients, providers and voters across the state. The battle will now be waged in the courts and through a voter referendum. This is once again the will of the people at work, trying valiantly to preserve "by the people, for the people."

This is not just about medical cannabis and a patient's right to choose what they put into their own bodies. It is about democracy. It is about the will of the people to make their own laws. It is about stopping those in legislative power from changing the will and intent of the people in favor of their own personal beliefs or those of special interest groups. It is about taking back our rights as individuals and as Americans.