ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Since marijuana became legalized in the state of Maryland on July 1st, 2023, medical marijuana patients have pushed for more legal aid to protect their rights. Specifically, the right to bear arms.
A person is prohibited from possessing a regulated firearm, a rifle, or a shotgun if the person was previously convicted of (1) a crime of violence; (2) a violation of specified controlled dangerous substances laws; or (3) an offense under the laws of another state or the United States that would constitute one of these crimes if committed in this State. [1]
Senate Bill 348, which is cross-filed with HB296 and sponsored by Mike McKay (R), proposed that a “person may not be denied the right to purchase, own, possess, or carry a firearm under this title solely on the basis that the person is authorized to use medical cannabis.” [1]
Recently, Maryland’s Senate advanced the protection of gun rights for marijuana patients in a 43-2 vote. Up next is the House of Delegates for their consideration.
Although states can pass their own bills into law, the federal government still does not recognize medical or recreational marijuana selling or usage as legal.
In 2022, the Biden Administration sided with the federal government, stating, “As the Justice Department notes in its motion to dismiss, courts have ‘uniformly upheld’ the federal law that criminalizes gun possession by ‘unlawful users’ of controlled substances, which is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In the 2016 case Wilson v. Lynch, for example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled that banning gun sales to people who have medical marijuana cards is consistent with the Second Amendment because ’empirical data and legislative determinations support a strong link between drug use and violence.’” [2]
According to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission (MMCC), gun ownership, possession, or acquisition by medical marijuana patients is still illegal, due to the following reasons: The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) still lists marijuana as a Schedule I drug and declares use unlawful and the Gun Control Act of 1968 forbids using restricted substances while owning a firearm.
However, if Bill 348 becomes law, it will go into effect October 2024.
Contact our news desk at news@thebaynet.com
https://reason.com/2022/08/09/the-biden-administration-defends-the-federal-ban-on-gun-possession-by-medical-marijuana-users/ [2]
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