Justice Department appeals cannabis gun rights

In a not-so-surprising move, the US government’s Department of Justice will appeal a federal court decision protecting the gun rights of cannabis users.

Last month, a US judge ruled that banning cannabis users from guns was unconstitutional. Judge Wyrick cited a US Supreme Court ruling dealing with an interpretation of the Second Amendment.

In New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court found that New York’s concealed carry restrictions violated the Fourteenth Amendment by stopping “law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs.”

Judge Wyrick ruled that cannabis use alone was not a “constitutionally permissible means of disarming” Americans.

To no surprise, the US Department of Justice appealed.

Justice Department appeals cannabis gun rights

US Attorney Robert Troester and Assistant US Attorney David McCrary do not say why they are appealing. Observers expect the Feds to explain their reasons before the Court of Appeals.

The case began when police arrested Jared Michael Harrison during a routine traffic stop in May 2022. They searched his car and found a loaded revolver and cannabis. Harrison worked in the state’s legal medicinal cannabis industry, but lacked proper documentation.

Nevertheless, he was charged and sued. Judge Wyrick, appointed by Donald Trump in 2018, ruled in favor of Harrison’s gun rights and freedom to use cannabis.

The Department of Justice cited case law that the limitation on gun ownership may be justified under the original ratification of the 1791 Second Amendment.

What the Justice Department doesn’t disclose, however, is that previous gun bans on certain groups included slaves, ex-slaves, Native Americans and even Irish Catholics.

Judge Wyrick said these earlier laws “cannot provide the basis for a historical analogue”. In fact, banning cannabis users from owning guns is about as backward and reactionary as banning guns from any nonviolent group.

The tide is turning

Once upon a time, possession of cannabis put you in a cage. Possession of cannabis and guns would be seen as a double whammy.

But with legal recreational cannabis markets in 21 states, the issue of cannabis and gun ownership is still relevant.

The Justice Department’s plan to appeal cannabis gun rights is another example of the Biden administration’s anti-cannabis ideology. (Contrasted with their lies).

But the tide is turning.

Former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (a Democrat) is pursuing a separate, ongoing federal lawsuit over gun rights and medical cannabis patients.

A federal district court dismissed her lawsuit last November. You are currently attractive.

The modern reefer craze does not allow cannabis users to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

The Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Bureau (ATF) denies cannabis users their rights by forcing them to either lie under oath or renounce their gun rights.

Of course, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives was supposed to be the name of a privately owned American retail chain. No government agency.

States to the rescue

As in the case of cannabis, state lawmakers can come to the rescue. As the federal Department of Justice and the ATF continue to harass cannabis users, a GOP Pennsylvania senator wants to remove state barriers to gun ownership for cannabis users.

The same is true in Maryland, where a House committee held a hearing last month on protecting gun rights for medical cannabis patients.

At the federal level, a GOP congressman introduced legislation last January that would protect the rights of medical cannabis patients.

In fact, if the GOP makes its peace with cannabis, it is more likely to protect the Second Amendment rights of American cannabis consumers.