Medical marijuana users ‘have 30 days’ to turn in their guns, police say

[Wild Bill]

Medical marijuana users ‘have 30 days’ to turn in their guns, police say

By Josh Magness

jmagness@mcclatchy.com

November 29, 2017 01:09 PM

UPDATED 9 HOURS 0 MINUTES AGO

If you use medical marijuana, you must turn in your guns.

That’s according to the Honolulu Police Department, which has been sending out letters to legal users of medicinal weed that they must forfeit their weapons, as reported by multiple news organizations.

The first legal medical marijuana dispensary opened in Hawaii this August, according to the Associated Press, even though medicinal pot was first legalized in 2000. There are currently 29 states that have some form of legalized medical pot.

But the drug is still illegal under federal law, which trumps any laws on weed that states may pass, Joshua E. Jackson, spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told LeHigh Valley Live in Pennsylvania.

“There are no exceptions in federal law for marijuana used for medicinal or recreational purposes,” he said.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article187082303.html

Edited December 1, 2017 by Wild Bill

[AmishRnot4ganja]

I think a law like this was challenged in Oregon and the person won. 

[Restorium2]

2 hours ago, AmishRnot4ganja said:

I think a law like this was challenged in Oregon and the person won. 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal ban on the sale of guns to medical marijuana card holders does not violate the Second Amendment, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.

 

The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals applies to the nine Western states that fall under the court’s jurisdiction, including California, Washington and Oregon.

It came in a lawsuit filed by S. Rowan Wilson, a Nevada woman who said she tried to buy a firearm for self-defense in 2011 after obtaining a medical cannabis card. The gun store refused, citing the federal rule banning the sale of firearms to illegal drug users.

Cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Wilson said she was not a marijuana user, but obtained the card in part as an expression of support for cannabis legalization.

She challenged guidance issued by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 2011 that said gun sellers should assume people with medical marijuana cards use the drug and not sell them firearms.

The 9th Circuit in its 3-0 decision said it was reasonable for federal regulators to assume a medical marijuana card holder was more likely to use the drug.

The court also said Congress had reasonably concluded that cannabis and other drug use “raises the risk of irrational or unpredictable behavior with which gun use should not be associated.”

Wilson’s attorney, Chaz Rainey, said there needs to be more consistency in the application of the Second Amendment. He planned to appeal the decision and his options include submitting the appeal to the same panel of judges that issued the ruling, a larger panel of the circuit court or the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We live in a world where having a medical marijuana card is enough to say you don’t get a gun, but if you’re on the no fly list your constitutional right is still protected,” he said.

The 9th Circuit also rejected other constitutional challenges to the ban that were raised by Wilson, including her argument that her gun rights were being stripped without due process.

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said the idea that cannabis users were more prone to violence is a fallacy.

“Responsible adults who use cannabis in a manner that is compliant with the laws of their states ought to receive the same legal rights and protections as other citizens,” he said.

Alex Kreit, a marijuana law expert at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, said the ruling was significant — but may not be the last time the 9th Circuit addresses medical marijuana and gun rights.

“It seems like the court did not foreclose the possibility of a challenge by actual medical marijuana users that they shouldn’t be lumped with other drug users in terms of concerns about violence,” he said.

[Restorium2]

Hopefully this will cause some more pressure on congress to make cannabis federally legal. The gun lobby has to see that this could bloom into some serious loss of customers. So they might up their bribes to congress to help them get off their arses and do something about it. 

[oldirongut]

There is a question on the federal firearms form, that asks " are you an UNLAWFUL user or addicted to marihuana?" If you answer no to this question and you use even medical marihuana you are now a felon. You lied to get a firearm. If you answer yes you will be denied said firearm.

Edited July 15, 2018 by oldirongut

[AmishRnot4ganja]

The form that I was presented with asked if I used "illegal drugs". In my opinion marijuana isn't an "illegal drug" in Michigan. The last time I applied for a pistol permit was over 10 years ago so maybe the form has been changed since then?

[Restorium2]

19 hours ago, oldirongut said:

There is a question on the federal firearms form, that asks "are you now or have you ever been a user or addicted to marihuana?" If you answer no to this question and you use even medical marihuana you are now a felon. You lied to get a firearm. If you answer yes you will be denied said firearm.

If you are not on record with a blood test that says you use marijuana then it wouldn't make much sense to admit it, right? That would be the only way that you could be proven to be a user. And if you ever had a test that showed you were using marijuana get another one where it says you have quit. They can't take your rights away because someday in the past you smoked marijuana. If that were the case then there wouldn't be very many legal gun owners out there. Gotta use some common sense with this issue. 

[oldirongut]

In Hawaii they are sending out letters to those who have a registry cards that they have 30 days to turn in their guns. Seems they are matching cards with federal pistol records to force the issue, Note question e. and the I certify paragraph...….The Hawaii firearms article is from High Times

Atf_form_4473-firearms_transaction_record_5300_9revised_0.pdf

Edited July 15, 2018 by oldirongut

[Restorium2]

1 hour ago, oldirongut said:

In Hawaii they are sending out letters to those who have a registry cards that they have 30 days to turn in their guns. Seems they are matching cards with federal pistol records to force the issue, Note question e. and the I certify paragraph...….The Hawaii firearms article is from High Times

Atf_form_4473-firearms_transaction_record_5300_9revised_0.pdf

The Hawaii Law Enforcement changed their minds before that ever happened. 

I would cut and paste the article here but this web site doesn't work correctly with Microsoft Edge and they are not willing to fix it. No cut and paste at all. 

[oldirongut]

I saw it, thanks for the update.