The Butte-Silver Bow Judiciary Committee on July 23 voted to hold a draft ordinance that would regulate the sale and distribution of medical and recreational marijuana pending further zoning-language work. County Attorney Matt Enruth asked the committee to allow the County Attorney's Office and planning staff more time to align the ordinance with zoning regulations before returning it for review.

The request matters because wholesale rules for retail marijuana sales interact with local zoning and land-use rules that determine where retail outlets may locate. Enruth said he has been coordinating with Director Crane on implementation through new zoning regulations and that they had not yet completed the drafting. "Her and I have not had a chance to sit down and finish drafting out the language on that. Once that's complete, I'll bring it back to judiciary," Enruth said.

Committee members moved to hold the communication in advance to allow staff time to finish the language; the motion was seconded and approved by the committee. No final ordinance language was presented or adopted at the meeting, and the committee took no vote on substantive regulation or on zoning changes.

Because the ordinance remains in draft form, committee members did not make decisions about specific zoning districts, buffer distances, hours of operation or licensing processes. The county attorney and planning director will return with a revised draft for further committee review.