BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has filed a memorandum supporting its motion for a preliminary injunction with a federal court in Pennsylvania in a challenge of the federal ban on gun ownership by medical marijuana users.
The case, known as Green v. Garland, was filed earlier this year in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. SAF is joined by Warren County, Pa. District Attorney Robert Greene, who has served in that office since 2013 and currently possesses a medical marijuana ID card under Pennsylvania law, and James Irey, a veteran who wishes to obtain a medical marijuana ID card but not forfeit his Second Amendment rights in the process. They are represented by attorneys Adam Kraut, who serves as SAF executive director, and Joshua Prince of Bechtelsville, Pa.
Defendants are Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Christopher Wray and ATF Director Steven Dettelbach.
“In our memorandum,” said Kraut, “we remind the court that if an individual is prescribed and uses a Schedule II narcotic such as oxycodone, nothing prevents them from exercising their Second Amendment rights. If you consider that medical marijuana is now allowed in 38 states and that millions of Americans should not be forced to choose between treating their symptoms with marijuana or losing their gun rights, this disparity does not make sense, and it should not continue to roadblock people from seeking a relief from pain by using marijuana.”
SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb has maintained his position on the matter, that the use of medical marijuana should not translate to surrendering anyone’s Second Amendment rights.
“The government’s current restrictions unquestionably infringe on the Second Amendment rights of honest citizens,” Gottlieb said. “This question must be settled and now seems the right time to do it.”