Bill Would Add Exposure to Marijuana to Child Endangerment Laws

Montana lawmakers are attempting to add to the crime of child endangerment, including exposure to marijuana.

Senate Bill 261 would make exposing a child to marijuana and other dangerous drugs, which would include fentanyl, or forcing them to consume the drugs a punishable offense. It would also criminalize assisting minors in entering marijuana dispensaries.

Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, is carrying the bill. In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Feb. 12, Hertz said SB 261 gives law enforcement agents more tools to protect the safety of children.

“Children look up to their parents and their behavior,” Hertz said. “Right now we have a problem going on in the state in regards to high-potency marijuana. It is causing problems across the state.”

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said that if fentanyl or fentanyl paraphernalia is found in a home with a child, whoever is in possession could be charged with felony child endangerment under SB 261. These charges already exist with methamphetamine.

Committee member Sen. Daniel Emrich, R-Great Falls, said he worried that second-hand smoke could be charged as a felony.

Knudsen said the bill requires “knowing and purposeful” exposure under a section of Montana Code that would be amended by the bill.

“ Just as a prosecutor, I think we’d have a hard time proving ‘purposely and knowingly’ under the requirements of Title 45,” Knudsen said.

There were no opponents in the bill’s first hearing. Another bill awaiting a hearing in the committee, House Bill 49, aims to make synthetic cannabinoids illegal.