Happy Monday, Flathead Beacon readers! Maggie Dresser here, and my ears are still ringing since emerging from the Kalispell Eagles on Saturday night where I stepped out of my comfort zone for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest, which brought roughly a dozen metal bands together for a night of sweat, mosh pits and heavy bass to the Flathead Valley.
In addition to the stacked lineup of local artists like Wizzerd, SurfBat, and Schticky, the Cincinnati-based, two-piece band Lung emerged as the highlight of my night when a classically trained opera singer and cellist and drummer captivated fans in the Eagles’ basement. I even bought some of the band’s merch after the show, a clothing article I can only describe as a mildly satanic weird horse girl shirt.
Kicking off at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday as a nod to the unofficial time to light up, the Riff Fest was scheduled just before April 20, the counterculture holiday celebrated by stoners everywhere.
The plant inspiring this unofficial holiday in 2022 became legal for adult recreational use in Montana and has since trimmed an accessible pathway for consumers. But local and state regulations have been sticky for business owners to navigate as they endure overhauls to state law, federal raids during the medical marijuana days, and threats of legislation repeal over the past 15-plus years.
Now in 2026, zoning laws across the state vary locally as cities and counties grapple with where to cultivate, process and dispense cannabis on a new frontier.
Flathead County in 2023 limited cultivation and manufacturing to agricultural and residential zones, meaning some owners could not grow their plants in business zones where their product is sold. This requires many business owners to operate separate facilities in multiple locations to cultivate, manufacture and dispense their products.
The restriction prompted First Class Grass Farm owner Jim Roth to apply for a zone change that would allow his business to integrate vertically under one roof, which Flathead County commissioners last year denied, citing a need for a county-wide update.
At an April 8 Flathead County Planning Board workshop centered around a marijuana zoning text amendment, officials said a new comprehensive interpretation of the zoning regulations was needed to update the current policy.
During the workshop, Kate Cholewa, a government affairs specialist with the Montana Cannabis Industry Association, described a disjointed process following recreational legalization, which entailed a restructure of department oversight as the new market’s flood gates opened.
“At the state and local level, I think it has been a more jagged issue,” Cholewa said. “When it moved to the Department of Revenue from the Department of Health and Human Services — it was an enormous task … the priorities were so intense, and this is all shaking out now.”
Zoning regulations have varied widely between each local jurisdiction, with some cities and counties, like Missoula, embracing the new market, while others have tightened restrictions as much as legally possible.
For example, the City of Kalispell in 2021 passed an ordinance to restrict marijuana dispensaries, cultivation and manufacturing to industrial zones, which are limited to areas at the city’s edge. Some councilors at the time viewed the ordinance as an avenue to zone the marijuana industry out of the municipality.
The Flathead County Planning Board, however, is working with business owners to craft a new standard.
“We have a lot of cannabis facilities in our state, and I think it’s more of a county-city issue than a state issue,” business owner Tara Holloway said at the workshop. “Every county’s and city’s issues are unique.”
As planning and zoning officials work toward crafting a new proposal, officials at the workshop brainstormed ideas such as removing agricultural and residential zones, expanding conditional use permits and allowing cultivation and processing in business zones.
Proponents of the zone change have argued weed growers should have the same rights to cultivate and manufacture their product in business zones where distillers and brewers are allowed to produce liquor and beer.
“We’re a legitimate business in the state of Montana and our particular company has paid in excess of $300,000 in taxes in the last six months,” Angela Palmer of UURB Inc., said. “We are generating money for the state of Montana — and we’re generating a lot of it. I feel like we should get the same respect and the same protections from the county and from the state that any other legitimate business is afforded.”
Stay tuned for updates on the marijuana zoning text amendment, which will head to the planning board for approval in the coming months.
Here’s the rest of this edition of the Daily Roundup.
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