One of the stranger legal knots that has occurred from marijuana being illegal on a federal level while legal within states is the barring of firearms.
This even occurs for medical marijuana patients. When applying for a gun license, applicants are specifically asked whether or not they smoke marijuana. If yes, no license, and if no, you’re breaking federal law by withholding information.
Some advocates and even conservatives in Minnesota have had enough, and are lobbying to make the state Department of Health petition the federal government for an exemption to this antiquated law. This would make Minnesota the first state to appeal directly to the federal government, according to the Associated Press.
The alliance between conservatives and marijuana advocates shows how far medical marijuana has traveled outside of political divisions. If conservatives are considering using marijuana as medicine, gun rights is a clear obstacle in the way for most of their base, and the coexisting between both could make a real difference.
“In the eyes of the federal government, we’re all felons, and it’s just tragic,” says Republican Representative Rod Hamilton.
“Do I feel like I’ve missed out? Absolutely I do. My doctors think this would provide me some relief. I am prioritizing, right, wrong or otherwise, my Second Amendment rights over using, in the eyes of Minnesota, a lawful medical product.”
This story is only just beginning, so we’ll certainly hear more about its efforts within the coming months.
Read the original here.
