 Republican House members have presented the first piece of marijuana reform legislation for the 118th Congress, and it calls for allowing medical cannabis users to purchase and possess weapons. The measure seeks to amend federal statute as it concerns the “sale, purchase, shipment, receipt, or possession of a firearm or ammunition by a user of medical marijuana.”
Currently, people who use cananbis for any reason, even medical, are prohibited from buying or owning firearms because they are deemed to be "dangerous”. In 2022, US District Judge Allen Winsor wrote that “Florida’s medical marijuana users are ‘unlawful user[s] of . . . [a] controlled substance,’ so this law makes it a crime for them to possess firearms," and that "guns from those in whose hands they could be dangerous.” He compared it to the ban on mentally ill individuals also being prevented from owning guns and wrote that, “both categories of people can be dangerous when armed.” He continued to expound on it, and reaffirmed at they are simply “too dangerous to have guns.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms require prospective gun purchasers fill out a form which asks: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” The form then adds the following reminder message saying, “Warning: the use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medical or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.” The ban has drawn strong criticism from all sides of the political aisle. Supporters, legislators, and state authorities claim that it unfairly discriminates against marijuana patients and requires them to give up a constitutional right or obtain firearms through additional, potentially criminal means. Last year a similar bill was introduced, but if passed, it would have protected the Second Amendment right of any lawful marijuana consumer and not just medical marijuana patients. Unfortunatley that bill did not pass Congress. Also last year, Florida’s former agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried led an effort to sue the federal government over this, saying it forced medical marijuana patients to choose between their health and their second ammendment rights, and therefore the ban is discriminatory. Her case was dismissed, but it is still ongoing has she has since appealed the decision. Comments are closed.
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