"It's time to take back the state and its culture," the House speaker said.

In 2004, 62 percent of Montana voters supported the ballot measure legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, while 38 percent opposed it.

Rep. David Howard, R-Park City, a retired FBI agent, told of how the drug industry had corrupted Chicago politics and could do the same here if its huge profits are spent to elect a governor and attorney general, he said.

Howard said he fears for children and the state of Montana.

"They have no idea of the tsunami that's coming," he said. "There's only one way to get rid of this scourge."

The number of people getting cards authorizing them to use medical marijuana has skyrocketed the past year. As of last month, Montana now has more than 28,300 people who have been authorized to use medical marijuana, up from more than 7,300 in December 2009.

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But opponents such as Rep. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, urged a vote against the repeal bill. She said the Legislature has never repealed a voter-passed ballot issue before.