Montana House Speaker Mike Milburn is very proud of his sponsorship of a 2011 law that has helped destroy the medical marijuana industry in his state.

The sponsor of the measure to strike down the 2004 voter-approved initiative and bar medical marijuana in Montana said he would do it all over again if given the chance.

“I can’t say I would change anything. What we set out to do, we did. I think we got a lot further than we ever thought we would,” he said.

After Schweitzer’s veto, the session ended with legislators approving a strict law that limits who can qualify as a medical marijuana patient and eliminates the commercial sale of pot.

The new law is facing both a court challenge and a voter referendum this November.

Milburn made his comments after participating in a panel discussion along with medical marijuana advocates and opponents, following a Helena screening of the film “The Code of the West” that documented last year’s legislative debate.

The Cascade Republican was met by a hostile crowd of marijuana advocates in the audience who heckled him when he declined to disclose the source for his assertion that schoolchildren were “pimping” themselves out for marijuana. He also received boos when he said he said he did not know whether a cancer patient depicted in the film should have access to medical marijuana.

Milburn was unapologetic in the face of the chilly reception. He said he only learned prior to the 2011 legislative session how out of control the marijuana industry had become in the state and that groups he met with told him the drug was reaching schools.

You can imagine the type of person who doesn’t know whether a cancer patient should be allowed medical cannabis. And this man holds a lot of power in Montana, as is plainly evident.

The number of registered users and providers from a peak of more than 30,000 users and 4,800 providers in spring 2011 to 10,640 users and 414 providers last month.

It’s not as if these people were healed. They still have their ailments, just no access to medical marijuana. How compassionate.

If you’re reading this and live in Montana, this is one of the most powerful politicians in your state. You should let him know how you feel.

- Joe Klare