Medical Marijuana Card Bars Gun Ownership

Second Amendment does not protect gun ownership by people with medical marijuana cards, even though they may not necessarily be using any illegal drugs

Wilson v. Lynch, 2016 BL 2842009th Cir., No. 14-15700, 8/31/16.

   The Ninth Circuit held that a woman possessing a medical marijuana card can be prohibited from purchasing guns because of marijuana’s status as an illegal drug. Although the woman obtained the registry card to “convey a message in support of the medical use of marijuana,” she may still not purchase a gun. Traditionally, users blocked from purchasing a gun include unlawful drug users, convicted felons, or mentally ill persons. The court found, however, the prohibition from purchasing a gun while just having a medical marijuana card poses only a “moderate collateral burden” under intermediate scrutiny. The court noted that the plaintiff could minimize these burdens by surrendering her card, freeing her up to purchase a weapon.

https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/Wilson_v_Lynch_No_1415700_2016_BL_284200_9th_Cir_Aug_31_2016_Cour?1474475746

Medical Marijuana License As Possible Defense to DUI

Lawful users of medical marijuana are not automatically guilty of DUI, but they bear the burden of proving that the concentration of the drug in their system was insufficient to cause impairment.

 

Dobson v. McClennan, 2015 BL 382797, Ariz., No. CV-14-0313-PR, 11/20/15

 

    The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that lawful users of medical marijuana are not automatically guilty of DUI. The court did say that the patients bear the burden of proving that the concentration of the drug in their system was insufficient to cause impairment.

 

    The court did not accept the defendant's claim that it was not fair to put the burden on them because there is not a medically accepted threshold of marijuana impairment. Here, the court said, "[t]he risk of uncertainty in this regard should fall on the patients, who generally know, or should know if they are impaired and can control when they drive, rather than on the members of the public whom they encounter on our streets."

 

 http://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/Dobson_v_McClennen_No_CV140313PR_2015_BL_382797_Ariz_Nov_20_2015_?1451411924