Voters clear in wanting to keep recreational pot in Yellowstone County

During Tuesday's election, 25,288 voters opted to keep recreational marijuana sales legal in Yellowstone County compared to 18,302 who voted to ban sales. 

Voters were asked whether to overturn legalized recreational marijuana sales in Yellowstone County following a move in December by Yellowstone County commissioners to place the question on the June ballot. 

It's the third time since November 2020 that Billings voters have cast a ballot asking about recreational marijuana. 

Montana voters in 2020 overwhelmingly approved legalizing recreational marijuana; in Yellowstone County the vote was more narrow, 50.7% to 49.3% in favor, a difference of roughly 1,100 votes.

A year later, Billings officials went to voters to ask whether recreational marijuana storefronts should be allowed within city limits. This time voters said no, rejecting storefronts by a healthy margin of 55% to 45%.

Last August, county commissioners debated whether to return to voters with the question of allowing recreational marijuana sales within the county. At that meeting, only commissioners John Ostlund and Don Jones were present; Commissioner Denis Pitman was out of town.

Jones supported the motion to take the question back to voters, but Ostlund voted against it, saying that while he opposed recreational marijuana, county voters had clearly voted in favor for it. The tie vote killed the motion.

But following the vote in November, when Billings voters rejected storefronts in town, commissioners debated whether it was time to go back to voters. In December, they voted unanimously to do it. 

Recreational marijuana has been on sale in Montana since January and in Yellowstone County it's become a booming business. Statewide through May, Montanans have bought $123 million worth of recreational and medical marijuana, generating $17 million in tax revenue for the state, according to the Department of Revenue. 

During the same time period, Yellowstone County has led every other county in the state on sales, bringing in a total of $22 million.