After the decimation of the Montana medical marijuana industry, the number of patients and providers are starting to level out.

The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services reports there were 8,681 registered users in the state as of June 30, a number that is slightly down from 8,734 users the month before.

That represents a much smaller decline than the previous months leading back to June 2011, when there were more than 30,000 medical marijuana cardholders in Montana.

Lee Newspapers of Montana reports 390 medical marijuana providers were registered with the state in June. That is down from 400 in May.

The number of providers peaked at 4,848 in March 2011.

State legislation and federal raids have crippled the medicinal cannabis industry in Montana, which means there are thousands of patients who can no longer choose a safer form of medicine in the state. And to what end? Has Montana been brought back from the brink of destruction?

Or has the state just lost a lot of jobs while restricting medical access to thousands of people? It’s a shame that too many people still find that acceptable.

- Joe Klare