A Republican Senator in Pennsylvania has announced that he will introduce legislation to remove state laws prohibiting medical marijuana patients from carrying firearms.
Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) circulated a co-sponsorship memo about the forthcoming bill on Friday, noting that while the state’s 2016 medical marijuana law allows patients to “LEGALLY treat specific medical conditions with marijuana,” other state mechanisms–including the issuance of licenses to carry firearms–still treat cannabis as unlawful.
Pennsylvania law states that people who use marijuana illegally will not be eligible to receive a carry license. According to Laughlin’s bill, medical marijuana card holders are not illegal users of state law.
In Laughlin’s memo, it says: “A valid medical cannabis cardholder should not be considered as an illegal user and their rights denied.”
The text of the bill preview is not available yet, according to the office of the legislator, Marijuana Moment. Language is still being drafted.
Laughlin stated in a release that “although marijuana remains illegal under the federal law, it is important to update Pennsylvania’s laws so valid medical marijuana cards holders are not denied their legal rights.” My legislation will ensure that a valid medical cannabis cardholder is not considered an illegal marijuana user.
Tomorrow, we will drop a bill in favor of 2A cannabis.
Dan Laughlin 8 February 2024 HTML0
Laughlin, who has been studying the issue for over a year now, wrote to the acting police commissioner of the state in February last year to “strongly urge” him to review a ruling by the federal government that the U.S. The government’s ban against gun ownership for marijuana users is unconstitutional.
Pennsylvania officials are considering expanding adult-use marijuana law, and the GOP senator is pushing for gun rights to medical cannabis patients.
Gov. Josh Shapiro, (D), used his budget proposal to encourage legislators to send him a law to legalize marijuana. He said the state needed to catch up to neighbors who have already implemented the policy change.
The House of Representatives is now under the control of Democrats. They have held a series of meetings on marijuana legalization . The Senate still has a GOP majority, but a few Republicans, such as Laughlin , have called for the legalization of cannabis.
A recent poll found that approximately two thirds of Pennsylvania voters support marijuana legalization.
As more states legalized marijuana, officials, Second Amendment supporters, and others have struggled to find state and federal policies that prevent drug users from getting guns. Federal law states, most importantly, that a person who is an “unlawful” user of a controlled drug, such as marijuana, cannot legally purchase or possess a gun.
In recent years, the statute that backed this prohibition has been challenged by a number courts, some of which have deemed it unconstitutional.
Last month, Robert Greene, the District Attorney of Warren County in Pennsylvania, who is a medical cannabis patient registered with the state, joined forces with the Second Amendment Foundation to file a lawsuit against the federal government regarding the marijuana consumer ban.
The Department of Justice has consistently defended this policy. It argues that medical marijuana users and regular consumers present unique dangers for society, which justify denying Second Amendment rights.
The DOJ argued in late last year that the historical precedent “comfortably supports” the restriction. The Biden administration claimed that cannabis consumers who own guns are a special danger to society. This is because they’re ‘unlikely’ to store their weapons properly.
Despite this, a number of federal courts have ruled that the ban on marijuana is unconstitutional . This has led DOJ to appeal certain cases which are still ongoing.
In October, the Justice Department made similar arguments during oral argument in a related but separate case before the U.S. Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit. This case is about the Second Amendment rights for medical cannabis patients in Florida.
The attorneys in both cases also touched upon a U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit ruling, Daniels v. United States from August that found that the ban prohibiting people who use cannabis from possessing firearms was unconstitutional. This is true even if the marijuana users consume it for non-medical purposes.
DOJ had informed the Eleventh Circuit Court that it believed the ruling to be “incorrectly determined,”, and the department’s lawyer reiterated the government’s view that “there are reasons to doubt the foundations” in the appeals court’s decision.
In February, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma ruled that the prohibition against people using marijuana possessing firearms was unconstitutional. The judge stated that the federal government’s justification for maintaining the law is “concerning.”
In U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a judge ruled in April that banning people who use marijuana from possessing firearms is unconstitutional–and it said the same legal principle also applies to the sale and transfer of guns.
ATF wrote to Arkansas officials in August to warn them that the recently passed law allowing medical cannabis patients to get concealed carry licenses was “unacceptable” and could compromise the state’s alternative firearm licensing policy, which has been approved by the federal government.
issued a warning shortly after Minnesota’s Governor signed the legalization bill in law. The agency reminded that cannabis users are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms and ammunition until federal prohibition is lifted.
ATF will issue an advisory in 2020 that specifically targets Michigan and requires gun sellers conduct federal background checks for all unlicensed buyers. It said Michigan’s cannabis laws allowed “habitual marijuana consumers” and other disqualified persons to obtain firearms without a license.
Attorneys for Hunter Biden have cited the previous court ruling on the constitutionality of the federal gun ban and argued that it also applies to the case of their client.
Two Republican members of Congress have introduced two bills in this session, focusing 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 in December and is now awaiting floor action.
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.
Jersey City, New Jersey is one place where this issue is of particular relevance. Mayor Steven M. Fulop, (D), is suing the state over its policy which allows police officers to smoke marijuana when they are not on duty.
This challenge has, however, sparked pushback by two police officers who have sued Jersey City for what they claim is a political motivated move made by Fulop to serve a future gubernatorial election.
Advocates in Colorado have also been working on qualifying a ballot measure that would permit cannabis consumers to get concealed carry permits under the state law. State officials, however, have denied the proposal. They claim it violates Colorado’s one-subject rule for ballot initiatives.
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The article Pennsylvania GOP senator previews bill to let medical marijuana patients carry guns first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
