Cannabis & psychedelics amendments in Congress (Newsletter: June 4, 2024) - Marijuana Moment
Cannabis Control Division June Newsletter - Montana Department of Revenue (mtrevenue.gov)
Thanks for reading Montana Cannabis Guild Press Clips! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Cannabis : Law360 : Legal News & Analysis
ARTICLES
3rd try at approving recreational marijuana in South Dakota makes the ballot
Story by Jack Dura And Summer Ballentine
June 4, 2024
3rd try at approving recreational marijuana in South Dakota makes the ballot (msn.com)
South Dakota voters will decide again whether to legalize recreational marijuana, an issue with a frustrating history for backers of the ballot initiative in the conservative state.
On Monday, Secretary of State Monae Johnson's office validated a measure for the November general election ballot.It will be the third timeSouth Dakota voters have weighed in on the question.
In 2020,voters passed a measure which wasultimately struck downin court.In 2022,voters defeated another attempt.
Twenty-four states have legalized recreational marijuana.Ohio voters did somost recently, in November 2023.Florida voters will also voteon the issue this fall. And other efforts are ongoing in other states, includingNorth Dakota.
The South Dakota measure would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. The proposal has possession limits of 2 ounces of marijuana in a form other than concentrated cannabis or cannabis products. The measure also allows cultivation of plants, with restrictions. Measure backers plan to work with the Legislature to implement business licensing, tax and other regulations, if successful.
“We firmly believe that South Dakotans deserve to make their own choices on how they live their lives, including the freedom to responsibly use cannabis,” said Zebadiah Johnson, political director for the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana, in a statement.
Opponent Jim Kinyon, chairperson of Protecting South Dakota Kids, said the state's voters already had a say on the issue andrejectedrecreational marijuana back in 2022. He criticized supporters' repeated efforts to put the issue to a vote.
“How many times does the state of South Dakota need to reject recreational marijuana before the industry will accept the decision of the state’s citizens?” Kinyon said.
“I expect that the industry will triple down on their money to try and sway and disuade voters,” Protecting South Dakota Kids chairperson Jim Kinyon said.
Other initiated measures on South Dakota's ballot this fall are ones toprotect abortion rights,to repeal the state food tax and to implement a“top two” primaryelection system.
Senators Renew Push For Marijuana Industry Access To Federal Small Business Administration Loans And Resources
By Kyle Jaeger
June 4, 2024
A coalition of Democratic senators is asking a key committee to include provisions in an upcoming spending bill allowing small marijuana businesses to have fair access to federal Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs and entrepreneurial development resources that are available to companies in any other industry.
In a letter sent to leadership on a Senate Appropriations subcommittee last month that was announced in a press release on Monday, the senators requested that language be added to the Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Services and General Government Related Agencies (FSGG) spending bill to prevent SBA “from denying loan applications for the 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program, Disaster Assistance Program, Microloan Program, and 504/Certified Development Company Loan Program to legally operating cannabis small businesses in states that have legalized cannabis sale and use.”
The letter, led by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), also implores the panel’s leaders to add language to the spending legislation “prohibiting SBA from excluding such state-legal cannabis businesses from participating in or benefiting from SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs.”
The senators noted the “clear shift in public opinion” in favor of reform, with the vast majority of states having enacted some form of legalization and markets that have generated billions of dollars in tax revenue.
Beside Rosen, other signatories on the letter include Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Michael Bennett (D-CO).
“However, SBA’s current policy excludes from its loan and entrepreneurial development programs all small businesses with ‘direct’ or ‘indirect’ products or services that aid the use, growth, enhancement, or other development of cannabis,” the senators wrote. “Consequently, small businesses in states with some form of legal cannabis must choose between remaining eligible for SBA financing and support and participating in or doing business with a rapidly-growing and legal industry.”
This is at least the third time that Rosen hasled a letter with a similar request to Appropriations subcommittee leaders over recent sessions, though the requested language has not yet been incorporated into any spending bill.
“Currently, most banks are reluctant to serve even state-legal cannabis businesses due to conflicts with federal law, meaning that these legally operating small businesses often are forced to operate using only cash, potentially jeopardizing public safety in order to do business,” the lawmakers said in the new letter. “SBA loan programs would be especially helpful to cannabis small businesses because they would fill gaps left by the private sector and could expand the availability of capital for many entrepreneurs—including for our minority, women, and veteran business owners.”
To that point, Senate leadership has repeatedly discussedprioritizing a bipartisan bill to protect financial institutions that work with state-licensed cannabis businessesthis year. But it remains to be seen if that will ultimately advance, especially in light of reporting about resistance from key GOP members such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
Rosen said last year that she ultimately wants to see the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act amended toinclude provisions that would allow cannabis businesses to access SBA services.
“Access to SBA loan and entrepreneurship programs would support a rapidly growing industry that creates jobs, supports small businesses, and raise revenues in states that have chosen to legalize cannabis,” the newlettershe and the nine other Democratic senators wrote says.
“We strongly support SBA making all of its programs open and available to all state-legal cannabis small businesses. We, therefore, ask the Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government to include bill language in your forthcoming legislation to help extend SBA loan and entrepreneurship programs to cannabis small businesses legally operating in states that allow the sale and use of cannabis for medicinal or recreational purposes.”
Rosen also helped advocate for language in arecently introduced federal marijuana legalization bill that calls for an SBA pilot programproviding “for intermediary lending” to offer “direct loans to eligible intermediaries that in turn make small business loans to startups, businesses owned by individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, and socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses.”
In a press release about the cannabis letter and three other requests she recently led, Rosen said that “small businesses are the backbone of Nevada’s economy, which is why I’m leading efforts to cut through bureaucratic red tape that prevents them from accessing capital and working to secure the federal funding for resources they need to thrive.”
GOP Lawmakers Seek To Remove Marijuana Testing Ban For Military Recruits From Defense Bill
By Kyle Jaeger
June 3, 2024
Republican members of Congress are seeking to eliminate a provision of a defense bill that would block military branches from testing recruits for marijuana as a condition of enlistment, while other members push for a variety of new drug policy amendments that would prevent security clearance denials based on past cannabis use, expand expungement eligibility and facilitate the rescheduling of certain psychedelics, among other reforms.
The proposals are being pursued as part of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),which cleared the House Armed Services Committee last monthand must now go before the Rules Committee before potentially reaching the floor.
That panel will betaking up a separate defense-focused spending bill on Mondaywhere members will consider several overlapping amendments, including proposals to authorize U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors to issue medical marijuana recommendations to military veterans, prevent marijuana testing for federal job applicants in legal states and support research on the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics.
As currently drafted, the House NDAA contains a section to prevent military branches for testing recruits for marijuana for enlistment or commission. However, Reps. Pete Sessions (R-TX) and Robert Aderholt (R-AL) each filed separate amendments to strike that section, which reads:
“SEC. 531 PROHIBITION ON CANNABIS TESTING FOR ENLISTMENT OR COMMISSION IN CERTAIN ARMED FORCES.
Subject to subsection (a) of section 504 of chapter 31 of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of the military department concerned may not require an individual to submit to a test for cannabis as a condition of enlistment of such individual as a member, or the commission of such individual as an officer, of an Armed Force.”
Aderholt’s version of the amendment is cosponsored by Reps. Mary Miller (R-IL), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Andrew Clyde (R-GA) and Gary Palmer (R-AL)
The language in the billmirrors a proposed amendment to DOD appropriations legislation last yearthat was led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
DOD told lawmakers last year that marijuana’s active ingredient delta-9 THC is themost common substance that appears on positive drug testsfor active duty military service members. And several military branches have taken steps to loosen cannabis-related restrictions, includingissuing waivers for recruits who test positive their first time.
To that end, Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) filed another NDAA amendment that would require the secretary of defense to submit a report to Congress with a plan to “create, disseminate, and use a clear definition for the reenlistment waiver process” to clarify that the existing policy allows for such waivers to reapply for enlistment after testing positive for THC.
Of course, that might not be necessary if the bill is enacted with the broader cannabis testing ban provision in place.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) filed another familiar amendment that would prevent military departments from denying security clearances to people based solely on their past marijuana use if it was in compliance with state law.
“SEC. 17. PROHIBITION ON AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS TO DENY SECURITY CLEARANCES FOR MARIJUANA USAGE.
(a) PROHIBITION.—None of the funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act may be used to revoke or deny a security clearance under section 3002(b) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3343(b)) or any other provision of law prior to the completion of a full security clearance background investigation by an authorized investigative agency and issuance of a final decision on denial or revocation by an authorized adjudicative agency on the sole basis that an individual used marijuana (as defined in section 102(16)(A) of title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 802(16)(A)) if, under the law of the State where such individual used marijuana, such use was lawful.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) The terms ‘authorized investigative agency’ and ‘authorized adjudicative agency’ have the meanings given those terms in section 3001(a) of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (50 U.S.C. 3341(a)).
(2) The term ‘State’ means each of the several States, and includes the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.”
Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Joaquin Castro (D-TX) also filed an amendment to codify that military servicemembers can’t be penalized for using or possessing federally legal hemp products.
“SEC. 5. USE OF LEGAL HEMP PRODUCTS BY MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Defense may not prohibit a member of the Armed Forces from possessing, using, or consuming a product containing hemp or any ingredient derived from hemp if such possession, use, or consumption is in compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local law.
(b) HEMP DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘hemp’ has the meaning given that term in section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1639o).”
Since hemp was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, multiple military branches have updated their policies around the use of products such as CBD. While some have simply cautioned about the risk of mislabeled products containing excess THC, others like the Navy and Air Forcehave outright banned the useof hemp regardless of its legal status.
Another proposed NDAA amendment from Reps. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) would create a streamlined process for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to move drugs designated as “breakthrough therapies” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from Schedule I to Schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), “which could help facilitate a phased roll-out of these potentially lifesaving therapies via FDA-approved Expanded Access pilot programs.”
The amendment text doesn’t mention any specific drugs, but the summary specifically discusses MDMA and psilocybin as examples of such breakthrough therapies. This comes as an FDA advisory committee is set to meet this week to discuss a new drug application for MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Reps. Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Laurel Lee (R-FL), Mikkie Sherrill (D-NJ), Barry Moore (R-AL) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) also filed an amendment to expand eligibility for expungements of non-violent drug convictions by removing an age restriction limiting relief to those who were under 21 at the time of the offense.
“SEC. 17. ELIMINATING AGE REQUIREMENT FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF CERTAIN RECORDS OF DISPOSITION FOR SIMPLE POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES BY NONVIOLENT OFFENDERS.
Section 3607(c) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘and the person was less than twenty-one years old at the time of the offense,’.”
Meanwhile, the Rules Committee is also set to consider an NDAA amendment that would allow veterans to access state medical marijuana programs and eliminate a VA directive barring the department’s doctors from issuing cannabis recommendations.
SEC. 17__. PROVISION BY DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND OPINIONS REGARDING VETERAN PARTICIPATION IN STATE MARIJUANA PROGRAMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall authorize physicians and other health care providers employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs to—
(1) provide recommendations and opinions to veterans who are residents of States with State marijuana programs regarding the participation of veterans in such State marijuana programs; and
(2) complete forms reflecting such recommendations and opinions.
(b) STATE DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or possession of the United States, and each federally recognized Indian Tribe.
The amendment is based on a standalone bill, the Veterans Equal Access Act, thatBlumenauer has championed across multiple sessions. It’s advanced several times in committee and on the floor but has yet to be enacted into law.
Another amendment from Mace that members adopted in committee added report language for the NDAA that would require DOD to issue a report on how many service members have been discharged due to marijuana.
“The committee directs the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the House Committee on Armed Services and the Senate Committee on Armed Services on the number of servicemembers discharged from service on the sole basis of marijuana use not later than December 1, 2024. The report shall include the total number of servicemembers discharged over the previous ten years, the number discharged by year, and the state or location these service members resided at the time of discharge.”
An additional amendment from Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) that was adopted by the panel would require a DOD briefing on sentencing for cannabis-related offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
“Briefing on Sentencing of Cannabis-Related Offenses Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice In 2019, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that some disparities exist in different stages of the military justice process, including at courts-martial. The committee acknowledges and commends the Department for its numerous initiatives to address identified disparities and to reform the Uniform Code of Military Justice, including by implementing sentencing parameters pursuant to section 539E(e) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. The committee further recognizes that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has agreed with the Department of Health and Human Services’ recommendation to reschedule Cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
To better understand potential disparities in sentencing outcomes for cannabis-related offenses, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military services, to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services not later than January 31, 2025, on the following:
1) the number of convictions, broken down by service, for cannabis use for the last four fiscal years, disaggregated by time in service, rank/grade, sex, race, and ethnicity;
2) the number of convictions, broken down by service, for cannabis possession for the last four fiscal years, disaggregated by time in service, rank/grade, sex, race, and ethnicity;
3) the number of convictions, broken down by service, for cannabis use and possession, for the last four fiscal years, disaggregated by time in service, rank/grade, sex, race, and ethnicity; and
4) for each of the categories listed above, an assessment of whether any disparities exist based on time in service, rank/grade, sex, race, or ethnicity in the reviewed sentencing of servicemembers, broken down by service.”
Mace has also touted a separate amendment that she said “supports states’ rights by incorporating findings from 38 state marijuana programs into research.”
“The committee notes that to date, 38 states have implemented state regulatory programs for marijuana and therefore retain a level of knowledge and lessons learned regarding regulations and trends among producers, products, and consumer habits. The committee believes that the Department of Defense program established under Section 723 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31) to study the effectiveness of psychedelic substances and plant-based therapies, including marijuana, in treating post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries should incorporate findings and data collected by State-approved marijuana regulatory programs. The committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a report to the House Committee on Armed Services not later than January 31, 2025, on the extent to which the Department is coordinating with States which have regulatory programs for marijuana and incorporating related findings and data collected by State-approved marijuana regulatory programs.”
The legislation also includes report language to follow up on provisions in the most recently enacted NDAA that provide funding forDOD-led clinical trials on the therapeutic potential of psychedelicsfor active duty military service members.
The report language says the committee “wants to ensure the establishment of the program is progressing without impediment,” and calls on DOD to provide Congress with a status update report by January 31, 2025.
“Section 723 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31) established a Department of Defense program to study the effectiveness of psychedelic substances and plant-based therapies in treating post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries. The committee wants to ensure the establishment of the program is progressing without impediments. Therefore, the committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services no later than January 31, 2025, on the following with regards to the progress of the program:
(1) the Department’s process for funding eligible entities;
(2) the Secretary’s selection for lead administrator to carry out the program;
(3) a list and description of the eligible entities that have been selected for the program;
(4) how the Department notified and selected servicemembers to participate in the program;
(5) how many servicemembers have requested participation in the program;
(6) how many servicemembers have been selected for participation in the program;
(7) any issues the Department is encountering establishing the program;
(8) any anticipated delays to implementing the program; and
(9) any other information the Secretary deems relevant.”
Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), a former Navy SEAL with personal experience with psychedelics treatment who championed the underlying amendment, told Marijuana Moment earlier this year thathe planned to separately meet with military leadership to collaborateon how to effectively administer the program.
Meanwhile, a top official at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) said at a conference last month that he was initially“surprised” by the level of bipartisan support for psychedelic medicine in Congress. He said, at this point, psychedelics policy enjoys a greater level of bipartisanship than marijuana.
The conference took place about two weeks after the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee passed a bill to require VA tonotify Congress if any psychedelics are added to its formularyof covered prescription drugs.
Former FWP director refutes account of Gianforte wolf kill published by New York Times
June 4, 2024
Former FWP chief defends governor (billingsgazette.com)
Hank Worsech, the former director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, on Monday refuted allegations made in a June 2 New York Times story in which former agency employees said he pressured them to alter a citation issued to Gov. Greg Gianforte after he shot a trapped wolf in February 2021.
Although Worsech was appointed to the position by Gianforte, he said he accepted the job with the understanding that he would not provide special treatment for politicians or political appointees.
In the 2021 incident, Gianforte received a written warning for not taking a mandated trapping class prior to trapping and shooting the wolf.
The warning was signed by the agency's enforcement chief at the time, Dave Loewen, after then-warden Justin Hawkaluk told the Times he refused to remove Gianforte as the trapper of record when he checked the wolf in.
Under state law, a successful wolf hunter must present the hide and skull to a designated FWP employee within 10 days after harvest so the hide can be tagged.
Hawkaluk now works for the Montana Federation of Public Employees as a consultant for union employees from Great Falls to Bozeman, West Yellowstone and Helena. In a text to the Billings Gazette Hawkaluk said he stood by the story. When reached for comment, Loewen also said the account published in the New York Times was correct.
In an email, Gianforte's campaign communications director Anna Marian Block wrote of the Times article, “This story is a far left fever dream, mysteriously revived by the New York Times during an election year after it was reported more than three years ago, including by Lee Newspapers. The rehashing ofathree-year old incident is no coincidence considering Mr. Loewen left the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Departmentto be a consultant for the Montana Federation of Public Employees, which recently endorsed the democratic candidate for governor, Ryan Busse. A reasonable reader may further question Mr. Loewen's motives, and those of others who participated in the far-left New York Times story, based on contributions to the Busse campaign along with other Democrats."
Pressure
Worsech said he remembers the day "vividly" because he was worried he might have to tell the governor he couldn't keep the wolf. Without saying who had violated the law, Worsech said he asked Loewen what would be the punishment for not taking the trapper education course. He said Loewen told him there would only be a warning and no loss of the animal.
At the time, Gianforte had long been a licensed trapper but wolf trapping requires an education course.
In the Times story, Loewen said he was pressured by FWP officials to say Gianforte’s hunting partner, Matt Lumley, had shot the wolf to avoid involving the governor. This took place after Gianforte had already called in to an FWP hotline to report the wolf kill, as is required by law.
When Loewen asked Hawkaluk to make the change when he checked in the wolf, he declined and told Loewen, “I said, ‘Whoever you’re talking to over there better get their story straight, because Gianforte called that in as the trapper of record,” according to the Times story.
After Hawkaluk refused to bend, Loewen said he was called into Worsech’s office. At the director’s office, according to Loewen's account to the Times, sat Lumley, who is now president of the Montana Trappers Association.
A message left for Lumley regarding the Times story was not returned. But Worsech said no such meeting ever took place and that Lumley was sitting in a pickup truck after hauling the wolf to Helena for the governor.
"It's just so opposite of what happened that it blows me away," Worsech said.
In a 2021 interview, Gianforte told the Montana State Bureau that Lumley, a former federal trapper, had acted as a mentor to the governor as he pursued a wolf.
“It was an honor to kind of have him show me the ropes,” Gianforte said.
Collared wolf
To add to public interest in the story, the wolf had been captured and collared in Yellowstone National Park for research in 2018. However, the collar’s GPS function on the black male wolf, numbered 1155M, had quit.
The wolf was trapped on private land about 20 miles north of the park’s northern border in the Paradise Valley. State law requires such foothold traps to be checked every 48 hours. Gianfortetold the Montana State Bureauhe had been in the area hunting bison with his wife. Having no luck with that, he checked the trap and found the wolf.
“It was a real honor to finally connect,” he said. “I put a lot of time in over many, many years and not every sportsman is fortunate to ultimately harvest a wolf.”
Critics have said there’s no way the governor could have arrived in time to meet the 48 hour requirement, but without the GPS data Yellowstone officials could only confirm the wolf had been in the same area for some time.
State regulations allow hunters and trappers to kill collared wolves, although Montana has limited the wolf kill to six animals for the past two winter seasons to lessen the impact on park packs that move into Montana.
In December 2021 Gianforte shot and killed a treed cougar that had been collared by Yellowstone researchers. That hunt became the subject of a Washington Post story in which he was accused of not being present until after houndsmen had treed the lion, an accusation strongly denied at the time by the governor’s staff.
In 2000 Gianforte was cited for unlawfully killing an elk in Park County. He had shot a spike bull in an area where bulls had to have brow tines to be legal. Realizing the error, he contacted FWP and was fined $70.
Political attack
As Gianforte seeks his second term in office, he’s facing a challenge from Democrat Ryan Busse, who was quick to capitalize on the Times’ reporting.
In a post on X Busse posted an animated video the same morning the Times story went online criticizing Gianforte's hunting ethics and saying Gianforte pressured people to cover up how the wolf hunt was handled. The video was also shared on other platforms.
Busse’s campaign also issued a press release critical of Gianforte.
"All responsible hunters know we must call out wrong when we see it," Busse said in the release. "New Jersey Gianforte's history of unethical hunting and lying to and pressuring law enforcement, then intimidating public employees and ruining their careers, disqualifies him from holding public office and from the privilege of hunting in our state."
Busse is a former firearms company executive who left the industry after he said it became radicalized. In an interview earlier this year, Busse called for a massive reworking of FWP.
“That means that our law enforcement officers are there to enforce,” Busse said in an interview earlier this year. “They're not there to be buddies to the ranchers, or the outfitters, or the people who want favors or making money on the wildlife. They're there to enforce the law equally on everybody.”
Former chief
Loewen confirmed Hawkaluk’s recollections of the incident to the Times, but wouldn’t comment further citing a nondisparagement clause he had signed after leaving FWP in 2022. Loewen was put on paid administrative leave for more than two months before being paid $150,000 severance to leave his post.
Although FWP wouldn’t comment at the time on a personnel issue regarding Loewen’s departure, he told the Montana State Bureau he was sidelined after “bringing forth to the Director's Office my concerns of false rumors being spread, defamatory comments being made, and inappropriate communication being held between management level staff and field staff.”
Worsech said he was having Loewen investigated following complaints about the enforcement chief.
Loewen also said he was placed on leave for creating a hostile work environment, an accusation that was born out almost two years after his departure. In 2023, a Legislative Audit Division report “found a series of issues that have damaged the culture in the Enforcement Division, but maybe more importantly really hurt trust between the wardens out in the field and the chief’s office in Helena,” a legislative auditor said in a podcast.
The same audit found problems with FWP’s Human Resources Division regarding record keeping and oversight of hiring practices. AJune 2023 auditfound problems with FWP’s Licensing Division, an agency that had six leaders in 10 years.
FWP turmoil
Since Loewen’s departure, FWP’s director, Hank Worsech resigned due to health problems. He was replaced by then-deputy director, Dustin Temple. Temple’s administration has placed two other top agency officials on administrative leave.
Mike Volesky, chief of operations, has been on paid administrative leave since October 2022 after he was cited for hunting without permission. Although the case was dismissed in March, Volesky has not returned.
Then on May 17 FWP’s Fisheries Division chief, Eileen Ryce, was placed on administrative leave.
When running for the governor’s office in 2016, Gianforte wascritical of FWPsaying the agency was “at war with the landowners in the state.” In 2009, Gianfortesued FWPto remove an easem*nt that provided public access along the East Gallatin River.
On election eve, Trump endorses Troy Downing in eastern congressional race
June 3, 2024
Trump endorses Troy Downing in eastern congressional race (billingsgazette.com)
With hardly a day remaining before the polls close on Montana's primary election, former President Donald Trump endorsed Montana State Auditor Troy Downing for the Republican ticket in the eastern congressional district election.
"As Montana’s very popular State Auditor, Troy is a Combat Veteran and successful entrepreneur who knows how to create jobs, protect our Military, and represent Montana values in Congress," Trump said in a post Mondayon Truth Social, Trump's own social media platform. "Troy will fight to Lower Inflation, Secure our Border, Champion American Energy Independence, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment. Troy Downing has my Complete and Total Endorsem*nt!"
Downing said Monday he was honored by the nod from the former president, and believed they are most closely aligned on finishing the wall on the U.S. southern border.
"I'm looking forward to working with President Trump next year and really taking this country back again," he said in a phone interview. "He's going to have an ally in Congress."
Downing is running in an eight-way primary for the seat being vacated by Rep. Matt Rosendale. There are two other Republicans with formidable name recognition: Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen and longtime congressman Denny Rehberg. The top three candidates have all aimed to sway voters that they're the most loyal to Trump, though Downing has faced attacks for tweets dating back to 2016 where he was critical of the former president,saying he was "either a liar or an idiot.”Downing has countered with ads this cycle vowing to back Trump's agenda if he's re-elected.
On Monday, Downing said: "Since Trump was our nominee in the beginning I have had unwavering support for him."
Former GOP legislator Joel Krautter is the only candidate in the primary to say he does not support Trump.
Downing was among theuniform chorus of Republicanelected officials in Montana last week to denounce the jury conviction against Trump on 34 counts of falsification of business records as a "sham" proceeding put on by political forces out to dismantle a political frontrunner.
That conviction won't change Downing's decision to hoist high the former president's endorsem*nt.
"You've got a judge that clearly has a bias toward the Democrats," he said. "The problem is with the court itself and the judge."
Secure the border and control spending, says House candidate Troy Downing
The endorsem*nt comes late in Montana's primary, with 42% of absentee ballots already returned, according to the Montana Secretary of State's Office. Some counties' ballot counts are already as high as 50%. That accounts for nearly a quarter of registered voters.
"Obviously an endorsem*nt would do a lot more in the Republican primary even a week or two ago," said Carroll College political science Professor Jeremy Johnson.
He noted for such a packed primary contest, there hasn't been enough public polling to parse out a strong front runner. Aside from Krautter, most candidates have been running pro-Trump campaigns emphasizing similar issues, he said.
"Downing, because of his name recognition, is already one of the frontrunners," Johnson said. "The district is heavily Republican, so whoever's the Republican nominee will be the clear favorite in November."
County officials signaled last week the time has passed to mail in absentee ballots. Polls close at 8 p.m., Tuesday to vote in person or drop off ballots.
Thanks for reading Montana Cannabis Guild Press Clips! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
