Weed and weapons: patients lose gun rights.

• Author: Doherty, Brian
• Position: Citings - Brief article

THE BUREAU of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) insists you lose your Second Amendment rights if you let your state know you might want to use marijuana medicinally. According to a memo the BATFE sent to licensed gun dealers in September, possessing a state medical marijuana card triggers a provision of federal law that bars anyone "who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" from owning guns or ammunition.

Rowan Wilson, a Nevada medical technician, is challenging that policy via a federal lawsuit fried in October. She obtained a Nevada medical marijuana card in 2010 because she was considering using marijuana to relieve pain from menstrual cramps. In September, a gun dealer who knew her personally and knew she possessed the card refused to sell her a gun because of the BATFE's policy.

According to...