Federal bill would protect cannabis patients’ gun rights

By Dan Riffle

WCL News — A new bill in Congress suggests that the right to bear arms and the right to use medical marijuana should not be mutually exclusive, leading to the question, will the NRA back this reform? Sen. John Walsh (D-Mont.) offered an amendment June 19, 2014 to Senate appropriations bill S. 2347, which would prevent the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from targeting state-legal medical marijuana patients for possessing firearms.

“Montanans take their Second Amendment rights very seriously and hunting is an important part of our heritage and culture.  Whether firearms are used for sport or to help sustain a family by putting food on the table, the federal government should not prevent Montanans from owning firearms simply because a hunter benefits from access to medical marijuana,” said Chris Lindsey, legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project.

In 2011, the ATF issued a letter entitled “Open Letter to All Federal Firearms Licensees” which told licensees that according to Title 18, Section 922 of the United States Code, licensees are not allowed under to sell ammunition or firearms to individuals who use marijuana, even if the person uses it in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.

“We are pleased Sen. Walsh is sending a strong message to the federal government on behalf of Montanans: Stay away from the gun rights of our law-abiding citizens,” said Lindsey. “Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and many prescription drugs, yet the federal government seems to have a persistent case of reefer madness. A huge majority of Americans support seriously ill patients’ access to medical marijuana, yet the federal government still treats it like it were radioactive,” said Lindsey.

The Marijuana Policy Project backed the 2004 for voter initiative that resulted in the state’s first medical marijuana law in 2004. — West Coast Leaf News Service