Which Montana Organization Will Be First Prosecuted Under Federal Crackhouse Law?

HELENA — A collision between state and federal drug policy is brewing in Montana, where organizations providing needle exchange services could soon face federal prosecution under a decades-old law typically used to target drug dealers operating “crackhouses.”

President Trump’s July 24 executive order “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” directs the Department of Justice to review recipients of federal funding that “operate drug injection sites or ‘safe consumption sites,’ knowingly distribute drug paraphernalia, or permit the use or distribution of illicit drugs on property under their control” for potential prosecution under 21 U.S.C. § 856 — the federal Crackhouse Statute.

The order creates a direct legal confrontation with Montana, where needle exchange programs are explicitly protected by state law and actively promoted by state agencies. At least four organizations across the state could find themselves in federal crosshairs, with one nonprofit appearing particularly vulnerable due to its sophisticated statewide distribution network targeting tribal communities.

Open Aid Alliance: A Statewide Target

Open Aid Alliance, operating locations in Missoula and within the Lake County Health Department in Polson, has built the most extensive so-called “harm reduction” network in Montana — and potentially the most legally exposed under the Trump administration’s new enforcement priorities.

Internal documents from the organization’s “Montana Mail Order Supply Program” reveal a systematic and far-reaching needle exchange operation that federal prosecutors could argue violates the Crackhouse Statute. The nonprofit targets individuals on Montana’s Indian Reservations asking applicants whether they identify as Native American and if they reside on any of Montana’s seven major reservations, including Flathead, Blackfeet, Rocky Boy’s, Fort Belknap, Fort Peck, Northern Cheyenne, Crow, and Little Shell Chippewa tribal areas.

The organization’s application process includes detailed instructions for maintaining anonymity: “We recommend that you create a new free email,” the organization advises applicants. “We want you to interact with our program as anonymously as possible.”

Open Aid Alliance acknowledges in its materials that “federal funding does not support the purchase of syringes or cookers/mixers” — the exact items they distribute through their mail-order system.

The organization also coordinates with other needle exchange service programs statewide, asking applicants if they live within 5-10 miles of programs in Kalispell, Butte, and Billings — suggesting a coordinated network that could implicate multiple entities under federal law. The organizations needle “order form” mentions Flathead County Health Department, Butte-Silverbow County Health Department, Riverstrone Health in Billings, and Lake County Health Department as having “syringe service programs.”

Open Aid Alliance has also documented its operations publicly through social media posts showing large deliveries of hundreds of “syringe boxes” stacked in their office and indicating they plan for six-month supply cycles, providing additional evidence of the systematic scale of their distribution network.

Western Montana News reached out to Open Aid Alliance for comment on the executive order’s potential legal implications for their operations, their funding sources for syringe supplies, and whether they plan to modify services in response to federal enforcement threats. The organization had not responded as of publication.

Government Agencies in the Crosshairs

The Trump executive order doesn’t just target nonprofits — it explicitly aims at government entities that “permit” drug paraphernalia distribution on their property while receiving federal funding.

Lake County Health Department houses Open Aid Alliance operations at 802 Main Street in Polson, making the county government potentially liable as a co-conspirator under federal law. The health department, which relies heavily on federal grants, could face both criminal referral and immediate funding cuts.

Flathead County Health Department operates its own needle exchange services program, providing “access to and disposal of syringes” and “sterile injection supplies” according to its website. As a county government entity dependent on federal funding, it faces dual exposure under the executive order.

Butte-Silver Bow County Health Department similarly operates needle exchange services that federal authorities could now target for prosecution.

State Government Complicity

Perhaps most remarkably, Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services actively promotes these programs on its official website, listing needle exchange service programs in Billings, Butte, Kalispell, and Missoula as resources for residents seeking HIV and STD testing.

The state’s promotion of these services stems from its official 2017-2019 Substance Use Disorder Strategic Plan, which explicitly designated Open Aid Alliance as the lead organization for expanding harm reduction and needle exchange programs statewide. The plan called for the organization to “support the development of additional needle exchange and other harm reduction initiatives in Montana communities” and “provide on-going, statewide capacity building and technical assistance for harm reduction programs.”

This state endorsement occurred under Governor Steve Bullock’s administration, which in 2017 signed Senate Bill 228, introduced by Sen. Duane Ankney (R-Colstrip), explicitly exempting needle exchange programs from Montana’s drug paraphernalia laws. The legislation protects “employees or volunteers of an organization, including a nonprofit community-based organization, local health department, or tribal health department, that provides needle and syringe exchange services.”

Western Montana News reached out to Montana DPHHS Communications Director Jon Ebelt for comment on whether the department is aware of the executive order’s implications for programs it promotes, how it reconciles state policy with potential federal prosecution, and whether it plans to modify its harm reduction policies or website content in response to federal enforcement threats. DPHHS had not responded as of publication.

Federal vs. State Law Collision

The legal conflict is stark: activities explicitly protected under Montana state law are now targeted for federal prosecution. The Crackhouse Statute makes it illegal to “knowingly open, lease, rent, use, or maintain any place, whether permanently or temporarily, for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance.”

Federal prosecutors could argue that providing syringes and “cookers/mixers” constitutes “maintaining” a place for controlled substance use, regardless of state law protections.

The executive order directs federal agencies to prioritize grants for states that “enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use” and other criteria — potentially putting millions in federal funding at risk for Montana agencies that continue operating or supporting harm reduction programs.

Broader Executive Order Context

The targeting of harm reduction programs represents just one component of Trump’s comprehensive executive order addressing homelessness and public safety. The order also directs expanded use of civil commitment for individuals with mental illness, enhanced tracking of homeless sex offenders, and termination of “housing first” policies that don’t emphasize treatment and accountability.

These broader provisions deserve separate analysis, but the immediate threat to Montana’s harm reduction infrastructure represents the most direct challenge to existing state policy and operations.

Timeline and Implications

The executive order directs “immediate steps” from federal agencies, suggesting rapid implementation rather than lengthy policy development. The Department of Justice is specifically tasked with reviewing potential violations and bringing “civil or criminal actions in appropriate cases.”

For Montana, this creates an unprecedented situation where the state’s official drug policy — developed through extensive stakeholder engagement and codified in state law — faces systematic federal dismantling.

The implications extend beyond individual organizations to Montana’s entire public health infrastructure. County health departments, tribal health programs, and state agencies all face potential federal funding cuts or criminal liability for continuing policies that Montana law explicitly authorizes and state agencies actively promote.

The Question Remains

With multiple vulnerable targets across Montana, the question isn’t whether federal enforcement will reach the state, but which organization will be first. Open Aid Alliance’s extensive documentation, tribal community targeting, and multi-jurisdictional operations make it the most legally exposed. But the systematic nature of Montana’s harm reduction network means federal action against one entity could quickly cascade to others.

The Trump administration’s directive for “immediate steps” suggests answers may come soon, forcing Montana to choose between federal funding and state policy — a choice that could reshape the state’s approach to addiction, public health, and the role of government in facilitating drug use through taxpayer-funded needle distribution programs.