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MARIJUANA MOMENT
PENNSYLVANIA GOP SENATOR’S BILL WOULD LET MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS GET GUN
CARRY PERMITS
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* Pennsylvania GOP Senator’s Bill Would Let Medical Marijuana Patients Get
Gun Carry Permits
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Marijuana Rescheduling, But Agency Endorsed FDA Recommendation
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POLITICS
PENNSYLVANIA GOP SENATOR’S BILL WOULD LET MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS GET GUN
CARRY PERMITS
Published
3 seconds ago
on
April 19, 2024
By
Ben Adlin
A Republican senator in Pennsylvania has formally introduced a bill meant to
remove state barriers to medical marijuana patients carrying firearms after
previewing the legislation and soliciting co-sponsors earlier this year.
Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) introduced SB 1146 on Wednesday, which state Senate
Republicans noted in a press release was also 2A Day, celebrating the
Constitution’s Second Amendment.
The GOP statement called the proposal “a bold step toward ensuring the rights of
all citizens,” saying it “acknowledges the importance of the right to bear arms,
a fundamental aspect of American freedom.”
Teen Marijuana Use Has Declined In Washington Since Legalization
Teen Marijuana Use Has Declined In Washington Since Legalization
Recent data from a survey conducted among teenage students in Washington State
indicates a decline in both lifetime and recent marijuana use over the past few
years. The findings also suggest that underage students' perceived access to
cannabis has generally decreased since the state legalized it for adults in
2012. This contradicts concerns expressed by opponents of the policy change.
In 2023, approximately 8.4% of 10th graders in Washington reported using
marijuana in the past 30 days, a slight increase from 7.2 percent in 2021. But
both of those numbers were sharply lower than pre-legalization numbers. For
instance, in 2010, 20% of 10th graders admitted to using cannabis in the past
month. In King County, the most populous in the state, only 5.5% of 10th
graders reported recent cannabis use in 2023, down from 7.3% in 2021 and 18.1%
in 2010. Similar declines were observed in lifetime marijuana use across
different grade levels surveyed, including 6th, 8th, and 12th grades. "In 2021,
survey data showed a 50% decline in youth cannabis and alcohol use in the past
30-days among 10th graders. The 2023 results show these numbers have remained
relatively stable", said Kristen Haley, the state Liquor and Cannabis Board's
(LCB) public health education liaison. Health officials attribute the
significant drops in substance use between 2018 and 2021 partly to the COVID-19
pandemic. "The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it a large decrease, roughly 50%,
in most youth substance use. While the long-term impacts are unknown, in 2023 we
see that substance use has remained relatively stable, both in Washington and
nationally", said Washington State's Department of Health.
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“My legislation will make sure a valid medical marijuana cardholder is no longer
considered an unlawful marijuana user,” Laughlin said in the release. “Although
marijuana remains illegal under federal law, we should be updating
Pennsylvania’s laws to ensure valid medical marijuana cardholders are not denied
their rights.”
The two-page bill would amend the Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act, which
currently says a concealed carry license “shall not be issued” to someone who
“is addicted to or is an unlawful user of marijuana.” SB 1146 would add that
“the term ‘unlawful user of marijuana’ does not include an individual who holds
a valid identification card” under the state’s medical marijuana act.
It would also add a qualifier to a provision barring carry permits for an
“individual who is prohibited from possessing or acquiring a firearm under the
statutes of the United States,” asserting that the restriction “shall not apply”
to someone prohibited from gun ownership “based solely on the individual’s
status as a holder of a valid identification card” for medical marijuana.
The changes would take effect 60 days after becoming law.
In February, Laughlin circulated a co-sponsorship memo previewing the measure,
noting that while the state’s 2016 medical marijuana law allows patients to
“LEGALLY treat specific medical conditions with marijuana,” other state
mechanisms—including the issuance of licenses to carry firearms—still treat
cannabis as unlawful.
“A valid medical marijuana cardholder should NOT be considered an unlawful user
and denied their rights,” Laughlin’s memo said. “Although marijuana remains
illegal under federal law, we should be updating Pennsylvania’s laws to ensure
valid medical marijuana cardholders are not denied their rights.”
Laughlin had been looking at the issue for more than a year, writing last
February to the state’s acting police commissioner to “strongly encourage” he
review a federal ruling that the U.S. government’s ban on gun ownership by
people who use marijuana is unconstitutional.
Separately in Pennsylvania, plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit over the Second
Amendment rights of medical marijuana cardholders—including a local prosecutor
who is himself a cannabis patient—filed a fresh brief in their case last month,
arguing that the “deprivation of Second Amendment rights for merely using a
medicinal substance has no basis in this nation’s history or tradition and is
unconstitutional, full stop.”
The underlying suit was filed in January by Pennsylvania’s Warren County
District Attorney Robert Greene, along with advocacy group the Second Amendment
Foundation and a U.S. military veteran who was recommended medical marijuana but
has not registered as a patient because it would deny him the right to possess a
firearm.
The filing quotes a federal appeals court ruling that opined, “Throughout
American history, laws have regulated the combination of guns and intoxicating
substances. But at no point in the 18th or 19th century did the government
disarm individuals who uses drugs or alcohol at one time from possessing guns at
another.”
Supreme Court justices are expected to decide soon whether they will hear a
federal government appeal of a circuit court ruling that found the firearm
restriction violates the Second Amendment.
That ruling came from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which
examined the federal statute known as Section 922(g)(3) that prevents someone
who is an “unlawful user” of an illegal drug from buying or possessing firearms.
The circuit court found the policy unconstitutional as applied to a man who
faced a conviction after admitting to having used cannabis while in possession
of a gun.
The tension around gun rights for medical cannabis patients comes as
Pennsylvania officials are increasingly considering broader adult-use marijuana
legalization.
A legislative subcommittee last week held yet another hearing on marijuana
legalization as the governor steps up his push to end cannabis prohibition. The
hearing came just days after Rep. Amen Brown (D) filed the marijuana
legalization bill, which he described as “grounded in safety and social equity.”
The panel has held hearings several times recently to discuss cannabis issues.
At a prior meeting last month, members focused on criminal justice implications
of prohibition and the potential benefits of reform.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug
policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters
pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and
hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to
get access.
—
At another hearing in February, members looked at the industry perspective, with
multiple stakeholders from cannabis growing, dispensing and testing businesses,
as well as clinical registrants, testifying.
At the subcommittee’s previous cannabis meeting in December, members heard
testimony and asked questions about various elements of marijuana oversight,
including promoting social equity and business opportunities, laboratory testing
and public versus private operation of a state-legal cannabis industry.
During the panel’s first meeting late last year, Frankel said that state-run
stores are “certainly an option” he’s considering for Pennsylvania, similar to
what New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) recommended for that state last year,
though a state commission later shied away from that plan.
The cannabis proposal the Brown filed in the House this week is an identical
companion to a bipartisan Senate cannabis legalization measure that was
introduced last year.
While Pennsylvania lawmakers have put forward legalization bills in the past,
it’s not clear what might serve as the vehicle for reform this year.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) once again proposed legalization as part of his budget
request in February, seeking to establish a system that would be implemented
starting this summer. But while he suggested certain parameters such as having
the Department of Agriculture regulate the program, there’s not legislative text
yet.
Last month, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a report that found the
state stands to generate $271 million in annual revenue if marijuana is
legalized and taxed according to the governor’s proposal—but it would have been
more if the commonwealth hadn’t been lapped by other neighboring states that
have already enacted the reform.
Meanwhile, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jordan Harris (D) said in a
recent interview that it’s “high time” to legalize marijuana and lay the
groundwork for businesses in the state to export cannabis to other markets if
federal law changes—and he sees a “real opportunity” to do so.
However, the committee’s minority chairman, Rep. Seth Grove (R), said he’s
doubtful that the Democratic-controlled House will be able to craft and deliver
legalization legislation that could advance through the GOP majority Senate.
Pennsylvania lawmakers also recently advanced a pair of bills meant to prevent
police from charging medical cannabis patients with impaired driving without
proof of intoxication.
In December, the governor signed a bill to allow all licensed medical marijuana
grower-processors in the state to serve as retailers and sell their cannabis
products directly to patients. Independent dispensaries could also start
cultivating their own marijuana.
> Americans Use Marijuana At Nearly The Same Rate In Legal And Non-Legal States,
> Suggesting Criminalization Doesn’t ‘Curtail’ Consumption, Gallup Poll Finds
Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our
cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon
pledge.
Related Topics:featured
Don't Miss
GOP Congressman Claims Top Federal Drug Official ‘Adamantly Opposes’ Marijuana
Rescheduling, But Agency Endorsed FDA Recommendation
Ben Adlin
Ben Adlin, a senior editor at Marijuana Moment, has been covering cannabis and
other drug policy issues professionally since 2011. He was previously a senior
news editor at Leafly, an associate editor at the Los Angeles Daily Journal and
a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs. He lives in Washington State.
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