ACLU to screen Montana medical marijuana film

As medical marijuana business owners face serious federal charges across the country, the documentary film “Code of the West” tells the emotional story of the medical marijuana political debate in Montana and its implications beyond.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana will host two screenings. The first is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Flathead County Library in Kalispell, and the second will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, at the Whitefish Community Library.

The screenings are free and open to the public.

“Code of the West” documents the 2011 Montana Legislature as it debates marijuana regulation and the repeal of the Medical Marijuana Initiative that Montana voters passed in 2004. It follows key figures on each side of the debate, including longtime drug policy reform activist Tom Daubert and Cherrie Brady, chair of Safe Communities Safe Kids. Daubert recently reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors after his former medical marijuana business Montana Cannabis was raided by federal agents in March 2011.

“Medical marijuana is one of the most heated policy issues facing the country today. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, but the federal government doesn’t recognize any legitimate medical use,” says film director Rebecca Richman Cohen. “The chance to explore the cultural and legal tensions at the heart of this divide drove me to make this film.”

This screening of “Code of the West” is part of a national tour of the film across the country, which began with the film’s premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March, and will continue through 2013.

The ACLU of Montana is hosting the film as part of its mission to educate the public about medical marijuana, drug law and the impact drug convictions have on prison overpopulation and tearing apart families.