The South Dakota Senate Committee has rejected a bill passed by the House that would have required medical marijuana dispensaries in the state to post signs at their locations warning cannabis users about the federal firearm ban. Members also approved an amended version of a separate piece of legislation mandating patients to check a box when applying for a medical cannabis card to confirm they are aware of the gun rule.
On Wednesday, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee heard three cannabis bills. The panel also rejected the third bill, which would have placed restrictions on doctors who recommend medical marijuana without first having a relationship with their patients.
The House advanced two gun-related cannabis bills earlier this month. However, the committee only approved a scaled-back version. This would require medical marijuana applications to include a checkbox that informs people that they cannot buy or possess firearms under federal law if they use cannabis under state laws.
In the version passed by the House, before it was amended in the committee, the patient would have been required to sign his or her name to confirm that they are aware of the federal regulation. The revised version passed unanimously, 7-0.
At Wednesday’s Senate Hearing, Rep. Kevin Jensen(R), the original sponsor, said: “It is nothing more than informing the people.”
The panel also rejected a measure that would have required notices about the federal law to be posted in dispensaries and at each register or point-of-sale. The bill has been controversial throughout its short legislative journey. Some industry stakeholders have argued that the measure imposes a burden on businesses.
The law would have fined dispensaries $250 a day for non-compliance. Sen. Michael Rohl, who owns a pub, said at the hearing the legislation is anti-business. KMIT reported.
The bill was first amended mainly on a technical level, but it was rejected by a 3-4 vote.
The sign South Dakota medical marijuana dispensaries were required to display would read:
“WARNING Federal Law prohibits possession of firearms by certain individuals that are marijuana users or addicts. See 18 U.S.C. “SS 922(g)”.
The committee also rejected a proposal that would have changed the rules governing doctors’ recommendations for medical cannabis by requiring a “bona-fide practitioner-patient relationship” before receiving authorization.
To establish a connection, the recommendation must have come from the patient’s primary healthcare provider, who is treating the specific condition for which the medical cannabis will be used. Or, it can also come from a practitioner referred by the primary care physician. Practitioners who gave cannabis recommendations without fulfilling these requirements were subject to “civil penalties” or “disciplinary actions.”
In the case of marijuana and firearms, the federal Justice Department insisted that cannabis users be prohibited from possessing firearms in many federal courts. They argued at times that marijuana users pose a unique risk, similar to allowing people with mental illnesses to own firearms.
The U.S. Supreme Court is currently considering whether to take up the question of the constitutionality the federal firearm ban for marijuana users.
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The Supreme Court is expected to decide if they will hear the federal government’s appeal of a Circuit Court ruling which found that the firearm restriction was in violation of the Second Amendment.
The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit made the ruling after examining the federal law known as Section 902(g)(3). This statute prohibits anyone who is an “unlawful drug user” from purchasing or possessing firearms. The court ruled that the policy was unconstitutional when it applied to a man convicted for using cannabis while in possession a firearm.
A Pennsylvania District Attorney and gun rights activists filed a suit in federal court , this week, to overturn the prohibition preventing medical marijuana users from purchasing and possessing firearms.
A little-noticed FBI memo from 2019, which recently surfaced, shows that the federal government generally does not view it as a crime for medical cannabis caregivers or growers to own guns.
In the first half of the current two-year legislative session, Republican lawmakers filed two bills that focused on marijuana and gun policy.
Rep. Brian Mast, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a member of the House of Representatives, introduced legislation in May that would protect the Second Amendment right of marijuana users in states where the drug is legal. This would allow them to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) has promised to attach that legislation to the bipartisan marijuana banking bill, which advanced out of committee last September.
Mast is also sponsoring a separate Bill from Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), in this session, which would allow medical marijuana patients to buy and possess firearms.
In South Dakota, officials cleared the way recently for paid circulators to start collecting signatures in 2024 for a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana. The activist-led campaign is still evaluating next steps.
New York’s sudden cancellation of Marijuana board meeting came at Governor’s request, email suggests
The post South Dakota Senates Kill Bill to Fine Medical Marijuana Dispensaries that Don’t Warn Their Patients About Federal Gun Ban first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
