Federal statute makes it a felony punishable by up to 15 years for an unlawful user of a controlled substance to possess a firearm. Gun owners who partake in marijuana according to the laws of their state are therefore left in a precarious position.
A case is currently pending before the Eleventh Circuit challenging the statute and the DOJ’s enforcement of it. Former Florida agriculture commissioner Nikki Fried sued Attorney General Merrick Garland to overturn the ban in the Panhandle State, where medicinal marijuana is legal. She was joined in the lawsuit by two medical marijuana patients and a person who refuses to participate in Florida’s medical marijuana program “on the sole basis that they are unwilling to concede their Second Amendment rights.”
According to the filing, medical marijuana patients “may legally participate in Florida’s medical marijuana program in accordance with the Florida Constitution and state statute. However, solely due to this state-legal use of medical marijuana, [the Biden administration deems] them too dangerous to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
Read More
