STATE OF MONTANA LAWS ON ALCOHOL AND OTHER ILLEGAL DRUGS

Montana’s Underage Consumption of Alcohol Law

45-5-624.     Possession of or unlawful attempt to purchase intoxicating substance

A person under 21 years of age commits the offense of possession of an intoxicating substance if the person knowingly consumes or has in the person’s possession an intoxicating substance. A person may not be arrested for or charged with the offense solely because the person was at a place where other persons were possessing or consuming alcoholic beverages. A person does not commit the offense if the person consumes or gains possession of an alcoholic beverage because it was lawfully supplied to the person under 16-6-305 or when in the course of employment it is necessary to possess alcoholic beverages.

Montana’s Medical Amnesty Law

45-5-624. Possession of or unlawful attempt to purchase intoxicating substance

A person under 21 years of age may not be charged or prosecuted under subsection (1) if:

1. the person has consumed an intoxicating substance and seeks medical treatment at a health care facility or contacts law enforcement personnel or an emergency medical service provider for the purpose of seeking medical treatment;
2. the person accompanies another person under 21 years of age who has consumed an intoxicating substance and seeks medical treatment at a health care facility or contacts law enforcement personnel or an emergency medical service provider for the purpose of seeking medical treatment for the other person; or

• the person requires medical treatment as a result of consuming an intoxicating substance and evidence of a violation of this section is obtained during the course of seeking or receiving medical

Montana’s Carrying False Identification Law

61-5-302. Unlawful use of license or identification card

It is a misdemeanor for a person to:

1. display or cause or permit to be displayed or have in the person’s possession a canceled, revoked, suspended, fictitious, or altered driver’s license, identification card, or tribal identification card;
2. lend the person’s driver’s license, identification card, or tribal identification card to any other person or knowingly permit its use by another;
3. display or represent as one’s own any driver’s license, identification card, or tribal identification card not issued to the person;
4. fail or refuse to surrender to the department upon its lawful demand a driver’s license or identification card that has been suspended, revoked, or canceled;
5. use a false or fictitious name in an application for a driver’s license or identification card or knowingly make a false statement or knowingly conceal a material fact or otherwise commit a fraud in an application; or
6. permit any unlawful use of a driver’s license, identification card, or tribal identification card issued to the
7. Fines typically range between $280 and $500.

Montana’s Public Drunkenness Law

61-8-508. Intoxicated pedestrian

Except in an authorized crosswalk, a person who is under the influence of alcohol or any drug may walk or stand in the public right-of-way, as defined in 60-1- 103, but not on a roadway or a shoulder as is otherwise permissible under 61-8-506(2). Fines typically range between $100 and $500.

Montana’s Driving Under the Influence of Substances Law

61-8-401. Driving under influence of alcohol or drugs – definitions

It is unlawful and punishable, as provided in 61-8-442, 61-8-714, and 61-8-731 through 61- 8-734, for a person who is under the influence of:

1. alcohol to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle upon the ways of this state open to the public;
2. a dangerous drug to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state;
3. any other drug to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state; or
4. alcohol and any dangerous or other drug to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle within this
5. Fines typically range between $600 and $5,000.

Montana’s law on selling or furnishing alcohol to minors

16-6-305. Age limit for sale or provision of alcoholic beverages – liability of provider

1. Except in the case of an alcoholic beverage provided in a nonintoxicating quantity to a person under 21 years of age by the person’s parent or guardian, physician or dentist for medicinal purposes, a licensed pharmacist upon the prescription of a physician, or an ordained minister or priest in connection with a religious observance, a person may not sell or otherwise provide an alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years of
2. A parent, guardian, or other person may not knowingly sell or otherwise provide an alcoholic beverage in an intoxicating quantity to a person under 21 years of
3. For the purposes of this section, “intoxicating quantity” means a quantity of an alcoholic beverage that is sufficient to produce:
   1. a blood, breath, or urine alcohol concentration in excess of 05;
   2. substantial or visible mental or physical
4. A person is guilty of a misdemeanor who:
   1. invites a person under the age of 21 years into a public place where an alcoholic beverage is sold and treats, gives, or purchases an alcoholic beverage for the person;
   2. permits the person in a public place where an alcoholic beverage is sold to treat, give, or purchase alcoholic beverages for the person; or

• holds out the person to be 21 years of age or older to the owner of the establishment or to the owner’s

2. It is unlawful for any person to fraudulently misrepresents the person’s age to any dispenser of alcoholic beverages or to falsely procure any identification card or to alter any of the statements contained in any identification card, including a tribal identification
3. A person 21 years of age or older who violates the provisions of subsection (1)(b) is, in addition to applicable criminal penalties, subject to civil liability for damages resulting from a tortious act committed by the person to whom the intoxicating substance was sold or provided if the act is judicially determined to be the result of the intoxicated condition created by the

Montana’s open container laws

61-8-460. Unlawful possession of open alcoholic beverage container in motor vehicle on highway

1. Except as provided in subsection 2), a person commits the offense of unlawful possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor vehicle if the person knowingly possesses an open alcoholic beverage container within the passenger area of a motor vehicle on a
2. This section does not apply to an open alcoholic beverage container:
   1. in a locked glove compartment or storage compartment;
   2. in a motor vehicle trunk or luggage compartment or in a truck bed or cargo compartment;
   3. behind the last upright seat of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk;
   4. in a closed container in the area of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with a trunk and that is not normally occupied by the driver or a passenger; or

1. in the immediate possession of a passenger:
   1. of a motor vehicle, including a bus, taxi, or limousine, that is used for the transportation of persons for compensation and that includes the provision of a hired driver; or
   2. in the living quarters of a camper, travel trailer, or motor
   3. A person convicted of the offense of unlawful possession of an open alcoholic beverage container in a motor vehicle shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100.
   4. A violation of this section is not a criminal offense within the meaning of 3-1-317, 3-1- 318, 45- 2-101, 46-18-236, 61-8-104, and 61-8-711 and may not be recorded or charged against a driver’s record, and an insurance company may not hold a violation of this section against the insured or increase premiums because of the The surcharges provided for in 3-1-317, 3-1-318, and 46-18-236 may not be imposed for a violation of this section.

Sec. 4.04.030. Public drinking or display of open alcoholic beverages; containers; prohibited

Public drinking or display or exhibition of open alcoholic beverages (open container) as defined in section 4.04.020 is prohibited, and it is unlawful for any person to engage in public drinking, public display or exhibition of open alcoholic beverages (open container) within the city limits. Fines are typically $100.

Sec. 4.04.070. Violation; penalty

It is a misdemeanor for any person to violate any of the provisions of this article. b)   Anyone found guilty of the offense of having an open container under section

• shall be fined an amount not less than $100.00 and not to exceed $500.00 or be imprisoned in the county jail for a term not to exceed six months, or The first $100.00 of a fine under this section may not be suspended.

Upon conviction, the court may, in its discretion, order the payment of the costs of prosecution or imprisonment, or both, as part of the sentence.

Montana’s public urination or defecation laws

Sec. 24.06.010. Public urination and defecation

No person within the jurisdictional limits of the city shall publicly defecate or urinate on streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks, parking lots or other places open to the public including areas open to the public in buildings unless a sanitary facility capable of and commonly used for disposal of human urine or excrement is used.

Possession of Dangerous Drugs (PODD)

45-9-102. Criminal possession of dangerous drugs

Except as provided in Title 50, chapter 46, a person commits the offense of criminal possession of dangerous drugs if the person possesses any dangerous drug, as defined in 50-32-101. This subsection does not apply to the possession of synthetic cannabinoids listed as dangerous drugs in 50-32-222.

Possession of Dangerous Paraphilia (PODP)

45-10-103. Criminal possession of drug paraphernalia

Except as provided in Title 50, chapter 46, it is unlawful for a person to use or to possess with intent to use drug paraphernalia to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a dangerous drug. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than 6 months, fined an amount of not more than $500, or both. A person convicted

of a first violation of this section is presumed to be entitled to a deferred imposition of sentence of imprisonment.