Are You Legally Allowed To Use Pepper Spray In Montana?

Before you just laugh at me and tell me "of course you can Nick," let me tell you it's not so black and white.

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When you google the question "can you legally use pepper spray in montana," the first answer you get is for a company selling you pepper spray, so they are a bit of a biased source.

Of course they are going to tell you it's legal, they want to sell you a product.

Then there is the second answer from another website that has a bit more breakdown to our question.

All typical pepper spray formulations are permitted in Montana.

They also say,

There is no age restriction on the use or possession of defensive sprays in Montana. People under the age of 18 may possess pepper spray or tear gas for self-defense purposes.

That self-defense part is something that made me curious. So I went digging for more answers.

Pepper spray can be illegal

So in what way can pepper spray be illegal? If you use it as a weapon.

You can't just go spraying pepper spray all willy-nilly and expect there to be no repercussions.

In fact back in 2016 a Great Falls man was charged with assault with a weapon and aggravated assault because he pepper sprayed someone. The jury found him not guilty of aggravated assault, but couldn't agree on whether the pepper spray constituted as a weapon.

“Spraying someone with pepper spray without their consent is still a crime,” Cascade county attorney Josh Racki noted.

Josh Racki also added "Intent plays a big role, too."

So there you go, it's not illegal; but if you use it in a way that it's not intended to be used you can find your self in trouble.