Several cities across Montana have banned or are considering banning medical marijuana businesses. That's forcing some patients to go outside the law to get their medicine.

Algy Thain, a medical marijuana patient in Great Falls says about caregivers "They have nothing to sell, they're not allowed to sell it or even give it. So trying to get medical marijuana is just, it's a, let me put it this way, it's a @#$%& to try and get it period."

His partner David Sears says "It's basically cut it down to nothing right now. Basically the way I look at it the city is killing it's people."

Both Thain and Sears have Aids, and Hepatitis C among other debilitating medical conditions. Both have medical marijuana cards, but they say they aren't doing them any good.

Sears says "I was in such pain that nothing was bringing it down and with medical marijuana it at least helps take the edge off the pain to where you can focus on doing something else."

The Great Falls ban works by saying anything that is illegal on any level of government, like marijuana on the Federal level, isn't allowed in the city limits. City Attorney James Santoro says it shouldn't be a problem. Adding "Within minutes they can go to the county and there's accessibility, first. Number two, understanding during the moratorium, the city of Great Falls never had any active businesses or any business licenses during that time."

Santoro says patients can still grow their own, but businesses can't supply in city limits. He adds "I just know one thing, we're (the city) going to uphold the law. The ordinance is enacted and it's law in the city of great falls that medical marijuana is prohibited."

The ban is forcing some people to look to the black market. One woman we spoke on the condition of anonymity says she goes to a drug dealer to get marijuana. She says "It's scary. It's risky. I don't want to have to go to jail just because I want to get out of pain. I don't want to live my life like that, having to look over my shoulder just to be comfortable."

She's been on pills before and doesn't want to go back. She says she got addicted to the pills, and that marijuana doesn't make her feel like she has to have it. But there's a problem. The quality. The pot she gets isn't like what her caregiver would have. She says they had specific strains to help with her specific condition and to help with chemotherapy sickness.

Saying "On the streets you just get what there is. Usually its just what people are growing in their basements so it doesn't have the quality and doesn't take away the pain so it's really not worth the money. And the money, they charge twice as much so it's not worth it."

In the end, she's paying more, getting lower quality and worries about losing her card because of the city's ban. She says "I cried first. It seems like it took so long for me to find something that worked so well and then it was like someone grabbed it away from me."

David Sears says "You get to the point where you get that much pain and all that, they're thinking suicide, who knows what else."

There is some hope for the patients in towns with medical marijuana bans. An interim legislative committee working on fixes to the medical marijuana legislation.