Billings, Mont., which has 100,000 people, has handed out nearly 90 licenses to let businesses sell so-called "medical marijuana," which became legal in Montana in 2004.
Maybe you think marijuana is useful in treating the symptoms of some illnesses, or maybe you don't. But whatever your view on that question, is it likely that a city the size of Billings -- with many fewer people than Chattanooga has -- would have enough residents with a real "medical" need for marijuana to support scores of pot dispensaries?
Officials in Billings apparently think not. They looked around and discovered that not only have numerous pot dispensaries popped up, but a dozen of those businesses are less than a fifth of a mile from schools filled with impressionable children.
Now, after the horse has run free, they are trying to close the barn door. City officials recently voted to forbid any new "medical marijuana" businesses and are considering an all-out ban on pot sales, the Billings Gazette reported.
In the meantime, Billings seems to be another casualty of the legalization of "medical marijuana."