Cannabis users in America often run afoul of federal law for consuming state-legal cannabis. Since federal law still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance with no accepted medical applications and a high risk of abuse, federal institutions strictly prohibit it.
The result is cannabis users being penalized for engaging in actions that are legal in their home states. This includes a federal rule that prohibits marijuana users from purchasing a gun. Gun buyers have to fill out a federal form that includes a question on whether or not they use cannabis.
The form explicitly states that cannabis is illegal under federal law. Individuals who use state-legal marijuana are required to check yes, which results in their purchase being denied. If a marijuana user checks no, they could be subject to up to five years of imprisonment for lying about their marijuana use.
A recent NBC News report reveals that a top Florida Democrat is out to change this. Agriculture Commissioner Nikkie Fried, the sole elected Democrat in Florida, is planning on suing the Biden administration in a bid to block the federal law that prohibits cannabis users from purchasing firearms.
The lawsuit argues that the federal law is in violation of the Second Amendment rights of medical marijuana patients as well as a congressional budget prohibition that bars federal agents from impinging on state cannabis laws.
According to NBC News, Fried intended to file the lawsuit on April 20. If it is successful, it won’t just affect medical cannabis users in Florida; 37 states now have legal medical marijuana markets while 18 states allow the sale of recreational marijuana.
Fries’s office states that there are 2.5 million Floridians with concealed carry permits. Furthermore, a whopping 71% of voters in the state voted to legalize medical cannabis in 2016, and a recent survey found that 76% of the Floridians also support legalizing adult-use cannabis.
This majority support for cannabis reform is what allowed Fried, who ran on a promarijuana platform, to clinch her seat. She is bringing the lawsuit with three Florida citizens who have been affected by the federal rule in her official capacity as the Agriculture Commissioner.
Both guns and marijuana are legal in Florida, Fried says, and this lawsuit is about defending people’s rights to access both. While it is risky for her to sue the Biden administration in an election year, she states that her office has received numerous complaints.
Attorney General Merrick Garland and Marvin G. Richardson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives have been named in the suit as defendants.
The proceedings of this case are likely to be followed closely by marijuana industry actors such as American Cannabis Partners, whose clients remain unsure of whether their gun rights will be taken away once they consume marijuana.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to American Cannabis Partners are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACP
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