![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-15.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Maryland lawmakers on Wednesday held a hearing on a bill to protect gun rights for medical marijuana patients in the state.<\/p>\n
The House Judiciary Committee took up the legislation from Del. Robin Grammer (R) and four other GOP cosponsors days after a federal court declared that the federal ban<\/a> prohibiting cannabis consumers from possessing firearms is unconstitutional.<\/p>\n That ruling is expected to be appealed, so it remains to be seen whether the federal ban will ultimately be rescinded. But in the interim, Maryland legislators are seeking to provide some additional level of protection at the state level.<\/p>\n \u201cA person may not be denied the right to purchase, possess or carry a firearm under this title solely on the basis that the person is authorized to use medical cannabis\u201d under state statute, the bill<\/a> text says.<\/p>\n Grammer said at Wednesday\u2019s hearing that the existing policy \u201cputs average Marylanders in a bind,\u201d and he said the legislation would resolve a disconnect where state law permits medical cannabis cardholders to carry firearms but blocks them from purchasing them.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can actually still obtain a permit to carry but you just can\u2019t purchase a firearm,\u201d the sponsor said. \u201cIf you have the [medical cannabis] card, you lose your rights. It\u2019s not about the purchase or possession or use of cannabis\u2014your status as a qualifying patient is what dooms you.\u201d<\/p>\n He also referenced a memo from a former state attorney general, who he said suggested that one way \u201cto clarify the issue was to reconcile the public safety article with the health general article section 13.3313, and that\u2019s what this bill does.\u201d<\/p>\n Grammer filed a more expansive version of the legislation last month that included several additional layers of protections, including preventing state agencies from inquiring about patient status and requiring firearm purchase forms to include language stipulating that lawful use of medical cannabis is not disqualifying.<\/p>\n That measure<\/a> was originally scheduled for a hearing in the Judiciary Committee last week, but it was pulled and apparently replaced with the more narrowly tailored version.<\/p>\n Because the legislation is specifically focused on resolving the gun rights issue related to patient registration, that likely explains why it only covers medical cannabis patients, rather than take a more holistic approach to include adult-use consumers since Maryland legalized possession at the ballot last year and lawmakers recently introduced complementary legislation to regulate cannabis commerce<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014 The marijuana and gun rights issue has been addressed in several states, as well as federal courts and Congress.<\/p>\n The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma deemed the federal ban unconstitutional last week, with the decision largely based on an interpretation of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling<\/a>\u00a0in which the justices generally created a higher standard for policies that seek to impose restrictions on gun rights.<\/p>\n This decision comes as the ban\u00a0continues to be challenged in a separate federal court<\/a>\u00a0in a lawsuit that was raised by former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) and several medical cannabis patients.<\/p>\n Advocates have argued that the fight to end the federal ban for cannabis consumers isn\u2019t not about expanding gun rights, per se. Rather, it\u2019s a\u00a0matter of constitutionality and public safety<\/a>.<\/p>\n In 2020, ATF\u00a0issued an advisory specifically targeting Michigan<\/a>\u00a0that requires gun sellers to conduct federal background checks on all unlicensed gun buyers because it said the state\u2019s cannabis laws had enabled \u201chabitual marijuana users\u201d and other disqualified individuals to obtain firearms illegally.<\/p>\n Delaware\u2019s Democratic governor vetoed a bill late last year<\/a> meant to clarify that medical marijuana patients are not prohibited from buying, possessing or transferring firearms under state law.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0a GOP congressman recently filed a bill<\/a>\u00a0that seeks to allow medical cannabis patients to purchase and possess firearms. The legislation was also introduced in the 116th Congress but was not ultimately enacted.<\/p>\n Minnesota Marijuana Legalization Bill Clears Seventh House Committee, Halfway To The Floor<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Maryland Lawmakers Discuss Bill To Protect Gun Rights For Medical Marijuana Patients In Committee<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Maryland lawmakers on Wednesday held a hearing on a bill to protect gun rights for medical marijuana patients in the state. The House Judiciary Committee took up the legislation from Del. Robin Grammer (R) and four other GOP cosponsors days after a federal court declared that the federal ban prohibitingContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":61649,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61650,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61648\/revisions\/61650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-14.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: Maryland Lawmakers Discuss Bill To Protect Gun Rights For Medical Marijuana Patients In Committee<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"