Maryland Senate Advances Bill Safeguarding Gun Rights for Medical Marijuana Patients

In a decisive 43-2 vote on Tuesday, the Maryland Senate approved a bill aimed at protecting the gun rights of medical marijuana patients within the state. The legislation, championed by Sen. Mike McKay (R), has now been forwarded to the House of Delegates for further consideration, following its clearance from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee last week.

The proposed measure, if enacted, seeks to safeguard the rights of registered medical cannabis patients in Maryland to purchase, own, and carry firearms under state law. This protection would be extended even though federal statutes currently impose restrictions on such rights for medical marijuana patients.

This is not the first time the Maryland legislature has addressed the intersection of gun rights and medical marijuana. Last year, the House Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing on a related measure aimed at ensuring the protection of gun rights for medical cannabis patients.

The complex issue of marijuana users' access to firearms has been a subject of debate in various state legislatures and federal courts in recent years. Advocates for both marijuana and gun rights challenge the constitutionality of the federal ban that currently prohibits cannabis consumers from owning firearms.

The federal Justice Department has consistently defended the ban on cannabis consumers possessing guns in multiple federal courts, arguing that marijuana users pose a unique danger, akin to allowing individuals with serious mental illnesses to own firearms.

This constitutional debate has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where the question of the constitutionality of the federal gun ban for marijuana users is under consideration. Justices are expected to decide whether to hear a federal government appeal of a circuit court ruling that declared the firearm restriction unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The ruling, originating from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, scrutinized Section 922(g)(3) of the federal statute, which bars “unlawful users” of illegal drugs from purchasing or possessing firearms. The circuit court found the policy unconstitutional in a specific case where an individual faced conviction for admitting to cannabis use while in possession of a gun.

Notably, a little-known FBI memo from 2019 has surfaced, indicating that the federal government generally does not consider it a violation of the law for medical cannabis caregivers and growers to possess firearms.

In the realm of congressional action, Republican lawmakers have introduced bills addressing the intersection of gun and marijuana policy. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, filed legislation last year to protect Second Amendment rights for marijuana users in legal states. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has committed to attaching similar legislation to a bipartisan marijuana banking bill that advanced out of committee in September. Additionally, Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV) is sponsoring a separate bill this session, more narrowly focused on allowing medical cannabis patients to purchase and possess firearms.

This story was originally covered by Marijuana Moment.