Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Medical Marijuana and Guns

The Seattle Times has a wonderful story about medical marijuana users and gun rights.

Cynthia Willis calls up and down the firing range to be sure everyone knows she is shooting, squares up in a two-handed stance with her Walther P-22 automatic pistol and fires off a clip in rapid succession.

Willis is not only packing a concealed handgun permit in her wallet, she also has a medical marijuana card. That combination has led the local sheriff to try to take her gun permit away.

She is part of what is considered the first major court case in the country to consider whether guns and marijuana can legally mix. The sheriffs of Washington and Jackson counties say no. But Willis and three co-plaintiffs have won in state court twice, with the state's rights to regulate concealed weapons trumping federal gun control law in each decision.

With briefs filed and arguments made, they are now waiting for the Oregon Supreme Court to rule.
When it's over, the diminutive 54-year-old plans to still be eating marijuana cookies to deal with her arthritis pain and muscle spasms, and carrying her pistol.
Marijuana cookies, are you kidding me? You know how long that stuff stays in your system? Gun owners should be clear-headed and sober, not stoned on pot or any other intoxicants.

Of course, if they deny guns to pot users, next will be anyone with a prescription for methadone, vicodin, oxycontin, oxycodone and all the rest. If this didn't make such good sense I'd think it was another gun-control conspiracy to get rid of all the guns.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

10 comments:

  1. Well you have a right to privacy in your medical records correct? How can that right be violated to be used as a reason to violate your 2nd Amendment rights to keep and bear arms?

    Also, as you pointed out, where would you stop? Diabetics can start acting pretty strangely if their blood sugar gets out of balance - should they all be banned from gun ownership? Hell women with bad PMS can get kind of moody... no guns for women?

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  2. Everyone at one time or another, has had a prescription for pain medication. Does that mean that if you get a "scrip" for cough syrup that has Codeine in it, you have to give up your Second Amendment privileges?

    Sorry, but that is the most outrageous premise I've ever heard of.

    Mike

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  3. Common sense, good judgement, sound mental state. Anyone who has access to a potentially deadly weapon should be in possession of these, correct?

    But how many people every day get weapons who shouldn't have them? I'm thinking Seung-Hui Cho, Jared Loughner to name a few. We can't even regulate people the process for mentally ill people who gain access to guns. How many crack-heads do you think are out there with guns? And we're talking about violating the right to bear arms of someone who probably has cancer or some painfully debilitating illness taking medicinal marijuana to manage their symptoms. Isn't there something crazy about this?

    And besides that, I'm with Jim. Whatever happened to HIPAA rules? How did her medication become any of the sheriff's business in the first place?

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  4. The privacy issues are a problem, I admit. And I agree the marijuana patient who uses it like medicine is not likely to be a problem if that person is resposible to begin with. But aren't most of the marijuana card holders just scamming the system? Aren't they mostly people who just like to get high?

    In my opinion people like that, not unlike their alcohol-drinking friends, are too often too impaired to responsibly handle firearms.

    The main problem is not with legal marijuana users or beer drinkers, the real problem is the millions who abuse prescription medications like vicodin, oxycontin, methadone and oxycodone. In spite of Mr. G Guy's sarcastic suggestion that I want to ban ANYONE who EVER had a script, I'm talking about the folks who are habitual daily users of these very powerful drugs.

    When it comes to guns, we need higher standards than we use for anything else. Guns are serious business.

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  5. The woman had no privacy precisely because she had a county-issued marijuana card.

    And besides, the biggest problem with alcohol and guns isn't exactly the impairment itself. Alcohol has been known to make people fight. Alchol amplifies ill-feeling and anger. Alcohol makes people react irrationally. But the extreme gun guys inexplicably condone guns in bars seemingly just because it is so outrageous and dangerous.

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  6. Although Flying Junior is wrong. He would have a good point if his facts were correct. First, the gun in bar meme refers to restaurants that serve alcohol like Applebees. That is the law in 43 states. That includes Ohio. It is still a felony to drink alcohol while armed in those states.
    Second, alcohol lowers inhibitions. It makes you more violent only if you are violent to begin with.
    Third, the Walther P22 is a good choice as a target pistol.

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  7. People who use mind or mood altering drugs, legal or otherwise, should not have guns.

    Is that so difficult? You wanna talk about restricting rights, but even the Supreme Court which pro-gun folks generally seem to think gave them a big WIN in Heller, says reasonable restrictions are allowed.

    You wanna take drugs, you need to take drugs, give up the guns. Simple.

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  8. Well i was going through some posts of yours mikeB, i have been posting with you on the other one. I am starting to wonder more and more what made you so anti gun? Was it your up bringing?

    None the less, i actually agree with you on this one! I also believe people that are on marijuana or even prescribed drugs that has a possible side effect on the mind should NOT be the operator of guns. Period.

    But alas, the world today see's prescribed drugs like candy. Its a shame.

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    1. Anonymous, I'm glad we can agree on some things.

      As to what made me, I wouldn't call it anti-gun, but what made me what I am, now that's an enigma wrapped in a mystery.(I borrowed that from Dog Gone)

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