Legislators in Montana are thinking about altering the way the state treats addiction and mental health issues using millions of revenue from marijuana sales. The Healing and Ending Addiction through Recovery and Treatment (HEART) fund has awarded funds for addiction prevention and treatment in its first two years to tribal nations, county jails, and Medicaid providers.
The House Human Services Committee is debating two pieces of legislation that would alter the locations and methods of spending the funds. In support of a bill to designate that money specifically for juvenile suicide prevention, Matt Kuntz, the executive director of the mental health advocacy group NAMI Montana, gave testimony.
In the HEART account for mental health promotion, we believed we had adolescent suicide prevention. It became apparent, however, that not everyone did. So, he explained, it had to be stated. Montana has twice the national average for teen suicides. Out of the committee, there was unanimous support for the idea to allocate cash for preventative initiatives.
In accordance with another measure, the state health department would have to inform the Legislature of how the HEART fund’s funds are used. Legislators presently don’t know how much of the $50 million in the HEART fund is being used, according to Republican Rep. Jennifer Carlson of Manhattan.
We ought to be aware of the expenditure of our money when the legislature makes an appropriation, Carlson added. A decision on that bill wasn’t made right away by the committee. In order to raise the money by 50% during the 2025–2026 fiscal year, governor Greg Gianforte has asked for it.
