MISSOULA – A state law that took effect Saturday means Missoula County will be prosecuting minor marijuana offenses nearly five years after voters approved an initiative recommending that marijuana crimes be the lowest priority for law enforcement.
The Legislature passed a law that states that an initiative cannot be used to set priorities for the enforcement of any state law by a unit of local government.
County Attorney Fred Van Valkenburg issued a reminder Friday about the new law.
Under Initiative 2, which was passed in 2006, people arrested for misdemeanor marijuana offenses never saw those charges prosecuted by the county attorney’s office.
Van Valkenburg said removing the lowest-priority status from marijuana prosecutions might increase his office’s workload by about 50 cases a year.