Medical Marijuana

[6shooter62]

PSP Advisory re Federal law, Firearms and Medical Marijuana

Pa. State Police is releasing the advisory below on their public website. The advisory addresses the impact of federal firearms law on medical marijuana. Here it is:

• Information for Medical Marijuana Card holders: It is legal under Pennsylvania law for the holder of a validly issued patient Medical Marijuana Card to possess approved forms of medical marijuana. However, as per the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) state legalization of medical marijuana is not recognized by the federal government;, and possession of a valid Medical Marijuana Card and/or the use of medical marijuana defines you an "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance"; and, therefore, prohibited by Federal law from the purchase or acquisition, possession or control of a firearm pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), and 27 C.F.R. § 478.32(a)(3).

The BATFE's statement is set forth in its September 21, 2011, Open Letter to all Federal Firearms Licensees, which states in part that "[t]herefore, any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition." Click here for a copy of the Open Letter. Likewise, the mere possession of a Medical Marijuana Card will give rise to an inference that you are an "unlawful user of or addicted to" a controlled substance, pursuant to 27 C.F.R. § 478.11.


If you are holder of a Medical Marijuana Card, it is important that you know:

• It is unlawful for you to attempt to purchase a firearm under Federal law and you will be denied during your Pennsylvania State Police background check, due to prohibitions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3).

• It is unlawful for you to keep possession of any firearms which you owned or had in your possession prior to obtaining a Medical Marijuana Card, and you should consult an attorney about the best way to dispose of your firearms. Again, this is due to prohibitions under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3).

• It is also unlawful for you to apply for, possess or renew a Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearm (LTC), because you are "[a]n individual who is prohibited from possessing or acquiring a firearm under the statutes of the United States." (see above). The sheriff should not process your application if you truthfully indicate to the sheriff that you are the holder of a Medical Marijuana Card. Additionally, you will be denied during the Pennsylvania State Police background check, which occurs as part of the LTC application or renewal process.

 

[milemaker13]

My wife works for a very large pharma company. This issue came up when they had a sales meeting in Colorado. Company policy is drug free. Sales men argued that it was legal in Colorado , so it would be ok. The company issued a statement that basically said it is still illegal under federal law, that the company was controlled under federal law and so there would be no tolerance.
I'm all for freedom and no governmental interference... But I do find it strange that nowadays drugs are being considered safer than guns. What a turn...

 

[Carl N. Brown]

On a similar note to the opening post, persons who had registered their guns with the State of Hawaii and who had state-issued medical marijuana cards received letters from the City and County of Honolulu in November 2017 stating "If you currently own or have any firearms, you have 30 days upon receipt of this letter to voluntarily surrender your firearms, permit, and ammunition to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) or otherwise transfer ownership."

Honolulu took the time to match MMJ card holder lists to registered firearms owner lists.


Updt: Hawaii has always checked applications for permits to buy and register firearms against MMJ card holder records and denied applications by MMJ card holders. It has only been since Jan 2017 that Honolulu Police Department (Island of Oahu) has been sending letters to people who had gun permits approved who subsequently got MMJ cards telling them that they had to surrender their guns. Further due to public outcry, HPD has said it will stop matching MMJ card holder lists against gun permit holder lists and sending surrender letters; however, applications for gun permits will continue to be matched against MMJ card holders and denial of gun permits to MMJ card holders will continue. If you are an approved Hawaii gun permit holder, currently HPD will not demand surrender of your gun if you later get a MMJ card; if you have a MMJ card and then apply for a gun (purchase and possess) permit, your gun permit will not be approved.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

This is not new news and has been discussed several times already in just the short time I've been here.

Although the OP specifically mentions PA, the same holds true for any state which has legalized marijuana in any fashion.

 

[Frank Ettin]

PSP Advisory re Federal law, Firearms and Medical Marijuana

Pa. State Police is releasing the advisory below on their public website. The advisory addresses the impact of federal firearms law on medical marijuana. .....

Do you disagree or are you just bringing this to our attention?

In any case, this is basically old news and has been discussed here on numerous occasions. Here's the bottom line with respect to marijuana and guns in any State, not just Pennsylvania:

1. State law on marijuana is irrelevant.
   
   
2. Under federal law (the Controlled Substances Act, 21 USC 801, et seq.), marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance which may not, therefore, be lawfully prescribed or used. Therefore, any user of marijuana, even if legal under state law, is, under federal law, an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
   
   
3. Under federal law, a person who is an unlawful user of a controlled substance is prohibited from possessing a gun or ammunition (18 USC 922(g)(3)). Therefore, any one who is a user of marijuana, even if legal under state law, is a prohibited person and commits a federal felony by possessing a gun or ammunition.
   
   
4. Being a prohibited person in possession of a gun or ammunition is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison and/or a fine. And since it's a felony, conviction will result in a lifetime loss of gun rights.

And so, for all of you folks who think this is wrong:

1. The law at present is that someone who is an unlawful user of a controlled substance (including a user of marijuana, even under a state medical marijuana law) is prohibited under federal law from having possession of a gun.
   
   
2. That could be fixed. Congress could amend 18 USC 922(g) to provide that an unlawful user of a controlled substance would not include someone using marijuana under a state medical marijuana law. Or Congress could amend the Controlled Substances Act to provide for the lawful prescribing of marijuana (just as it does for Oxycontin). Or Congress could fix this in a variety of other ways. Ot the Attorney General through a process described in the Controlled Substances Act could, with appropriate factual and clinical support, reschedule marijuana.
   
   
3. So have you written your Congressional representatives?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

The Unlawful User of Controlled Substance prohibition, unlike the felony conviction or adjudicated mentally ill gun rights prohibition, is temporary and not permanent.
Supposedly when your unlawful use is no longer current as per 27 C.F.R. § 478.11, the federal prohibition goes away. The 9th Circuit opined in US v Dugan 2011: "...an unlawful drug user may regain his right to possess a firearm simply by ending his drug abuse. The restriction in § 922(g)(3) is far less onerous than those affecting felons and the mentally ill."
http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/09/20/08-10579.pdf

All a medical marijuana user has to do is give up their MMJ card, stop using marijuana and get a doctor's statement to that effect. The 9th Circuit ruled that continued possession of a MMJ card is evidence of continued federally unlawful use of marijuana.

 

[Speedo66]

On a similar note to the opening post, persons who had registered their guns with the State of Hawaii and who had state-issued medical marijuana cards received letters from the City and County of Honolulu in November 2017 stating "If you currently own or have any firearms, you have 30 days upon receipt of this letter to voluntarily surrender your firearms, permit, and ammunition to the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) or otherwise transfer ownership."

Honolulu took the time to match MMJ card holder lists to registered firearms owner lists.


Updt: Hawaii has always checked applications for permits to buy and register firearms against MMJ card holder records and denied applications by MMJ card holders. It has only been since Jan 2017 that Honolulu Police Department (Island of Oahu) has been sending letters to people who had gun permits approved who subsequently got MMJ cards telling them that they had to surrender their guns. Further due to public outcry, HPD has said it will stop matching MMJ card holder lists against gun permit holder lists and sending surrender letters; however, applications for gun permits will continue to be matched against MMJ card holders and denial of gun permits to MMJ card holders will continue. If you are an approved Hawaii gun permit holder, currently HPD will not demand surrender of your gun if you later get a MMJ card; if you have a MMJ card and then apply for a gun (purchase and possess) permit, your gun permit will not be approved.

HI doesn't seem to issue any carry permits anyway so that is a mute issue. They do require registration of all firearms, so that would be a problem for a shooter, hunter, or collector.

 

[Frank Ettin]

HI doesn't seem to issue any carry permits anyway so that is a mute issue. They do require registration of all firearms, so that would be a problem for a shooter, hunter, or collector.

Hawaii requires a permit to purchase a firearm, so it's not a moot (the word is "moot" not "mute") issue. And of course possession of a gun by a marijuana user still violates federal law.

 

[mljdeckard]

It seems a lot of people WISH this was complicated. It isn't.

 

[CapnMac]

Hawaii requires a permit to purchase a firearm, so it's not a moot (the word is "moot" not "mute") issue. And of course possession of a gun by a marijuana user still violates federal law.

Saw this demonstrated in court one day, and to the detriment of a young lawyer who looked to have spent more time partying than in case prep.

Now, fickle memory wants to remember that HI recently called for all of its registered permitees with MMJ cards to surrender all their arms not too terribly long ago. But, apparently LE was disinclined to go and seerve warrants on the non-compliant and the whole thing is presently under stay as the various agencies work out the kinnks in this.

 

[CZ9shooter]

It seems a lot of people WISH this was complicated. It isn't.

That's kinda what I thought.

Either you wanna get high, or you wanna be free to own firearms. Which is more important to you?

 

[Frank Ettin]

Folks are forgetting that we were discussing the law as it relates to RKBA matters and not whether or not marijuana is a good thing. Some more posts have been deleted, and this thread is now closed.