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Springfield Criminal Defense Lawyer Adam Woody Discusses Medical Marijuana and Gun Ownership

As the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services continues to craft the rules and regulations regarding medicinal marijuana in Missouri, questions regarding the new Constitutional Amendment continue.  One primary concern prospective medicinal marijuana users have is whether it will impact their Second Amendment Rights.  The answer, of course, is somewhat up in the air.  There is unlikely to be any state regulation banning firearms possession by medical marijuana patients, but the conflict comes from the federal law.  Current federal law outlaws possession of a banned controlled substance while simultaneously possessing a firearm.  Although the federal government has been fairly lax with states that are legalizing marijuana, the substance is still illegal federally.  The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms has taken a hard-line approach when it comes to medicinal marijuana users and firearms possession.  Their position is: you can’t have both.  That is unlikely to change and will be the governing rule in Missouri.  Once a person gets a medical marijuana prescription, their name will go into a federal database.  When that person attempts to purchase a new gun, their name will come up on the exclusion list and they will be unable to purchase a firearm.

It appears in Missouri and other states that have legalized medicinal marijuana, those patients have a choice to make: prescription marijuana or their Second Amendment rights to own, possess and purchase a firearm.

Adam was recently interviewed by the local CBS affiliate KOLR10 on this topic.  You can watch that interview by clicking the link here.