Medical cannabis patients are demanding basic gun rights in Minnesota

There are strange bedfellows in Minnesota, and then there’s the political coalition that is being forged.

It is a convergence of Amendment II proponents and marijuana advocates in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, with both sides coming together to urge that patients with medicinal cannabis be allowed to own weapons.

As reported by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, some “gun rights advocates and pro-legal groups and lawmakers are campaigning during the special session for the Minnesota Department of Health to request the federal government to remove marijuana from their List I patient classification.” on the medical program, which means that the government recognizes medical qualities. “

The reason patients are banned from buying firearms in Minnesota is because of the longstanding federal government bans on marijuana, a discrepancy that has brought all kinds of frustrations and roadblocks to states and cities that have legalized cannabis for either medical or recreational use to use.

The Minnesota Department of Health has the breakdown: “Cannabis is a List I controlled substance under federal law. Federal law prohibits anyone using an “illegal” substance, including medicinal cannabis, from purchasing a firearm. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATFE) stated that medical cannabis users were not allowed to exercise their right to bear arms due to the federal government’s cannabis ban.

“Citing the status of cannabis as a List I controlled substance under federal law, the agency said:”[T]There are no exceptions to federal law for marijuana supposedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by state law. ‘ The Minnesota Department of Health does not regulate the possession or purchase of firearms and so cannot say how the federal ban will be enforced. Questions specific to these federal firearms restrictions should be directed to your attorney or law enforcement agency. “

Minnesota and Federal Legalization

Of course, big changes could be underway at the federal level. Late last month, the US House of Representatives introduced the MORE Act, a law that seeks to “decriminalize and make unscheduled cannabis to reinvest in certain individuals adversely affected by the war on drugs for the elimination of certain To enable cannabis offenses ”. and for other purposes. “

The bill has had serious momentum on Capitol Hill, where the Democrats control the Houses of Congress, and party leaders seem motivated to end the ban. In April, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats were ready to push marijuana legalization forward, even if President Joe Biden – who opposed full legalization – is not fully on board.

“We will continue,” said Schumer at the time. “[Biden] said he is studying the subject, so [I] obviously wants to give him some time to study it. I want to bring my arguments to him, as many other proponents will. But at some point we will make progress, period. “

But Minnesota attorneys could write their own story. As the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “If their efforts are successful, Minnesota would be the first of 36 states to allow medical marijuana in any form to appeal directly to the federal government on behalf of its members, a number that is expected to that it will be expanded to three four times over the next few years with the addition of the adult dried flower. “

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill last month that finally gave medical cannabis patients in the state access to marijuana flowers.

Previously, cannabis patients in the state could only access marijuana products such as oils and topicals. Walz, a Democrat, has indicated he supports legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Minnesota and said in 2018 that he “supported the legalization of marijuana for recreational use by adults by developing a tax system that guarantees, that it is grown in Minnesota, and the records of. clears Minnesotans convicted of marijuana crimes. “