Medical Cannabis, Guns, Maryland

I want to start off by being clear with my position. If you are prescribed medical marijuana, you still possess inalienable rights- including your right to keep and bear arms. Just because you choose to medicate in a certain way doesn't mean you no longer have the right to own/possess firearms for any reason.

But my beliefs are contrary to the beliefs and actions of your elected officials in Maryland. In Maryland, they have stolen that right from those that even possess the medical marijuana card. Your politicians will try to offer the deflection that it is out of their hands because federal law forbids gun ownership by users of marijuana- regardless if the reason is medical or recreational.

What?! Medical marijuana is also itself illegal yet they found the testicular fortitude to ignore federal law when legalizing that on the state level. Or when many those same politicians support the ignoring of federal immigration law.

So now that we have identified that as a baseless excuse, let's move on...

This coming year in the Maryland General Assembly, Delegate Robin Grammer (Republican, District 6) is reintroducing HB0415, a bill he sponsored last year as HB0073, which provides that "a person may not be denied the right to purchase, own, possess, or carry a firearm solely on the basis that a person is authorized under certain provisions of law to use medical cannabis, establishing the intent of the General Assembly that medical cannabis should be treated as legal for purposes of State law and the State should not penalize a qualifying patient for using the drug legally"

I teach various classes all throughout Maryland. Thousands of my students over the years have been for the Handgun Qualification License (needed in order to purchase a Handgun in Maryland). I can't tell you how many people I have talked to that are frustrated and torn when they find out that because they have a medical marijuana card- their right has been stolen by their politicians. They feel worthless and forgotten.

They are being forced to choose between the ability to sufficiently medicate as per the advice of their physician, or surrender that ability in order to access their 2nd Amendment protected right to self defense- to keep and bear arms.

I have talked to people from all different walks of life, age, both genders, various religions and political parties that have found themselves in this predicament. They have varying medical conditions from cancer, Back injuries from car accidents or the work place. Veterans with wounds from war that will never go away.

One woman I spoke with was a mother of 3, grandmother of 5 in here 50's still working but was dealing with some severe back pain that made it extremely difficult to work or enjoy time with her family. She stated that upon the advise of her doctor and against what she spent a good part of her life believing-she went out on an limb to try it. She said that it definitely alleviated a good portion of her pain (this isn't a quote) but that her pain still exists. Her prescription didn't eliminate her pain but it allowed her the ability to get back to enjoying life. If I recall correctly, this woman was a business owner and a survivor of domestic violence. Their was no reasonable cause for this woman to be deprived of her civil and constitutionally protected right.

Delegate Grammer's sponsored bill, if passed, would acknowledge that these citizen of the United States and residents of Maryland are still people deserving of their rights- regardless of their medical condition and acting on advise of their doctor. It would allow those persons access to the most effective tool of self defense available, because they as tax payers don't have the luxury of armed police protection at anytime.

What do you need to do to help bring this much needed change to Maryland? Write your delegate and state senators. Come to Annapolis and speak in favor of this bill. Get others to do the same. This isn't the first year this bill has come up. Hopefully this will be the year that we are able to bring this bill to pass.

Too many Marylanders have been deprived of their Second Amendment protected rights. Even if this doesn't affect you right now, it may in the future. Even if you are adamantly against you personally ever using medical marijuana, what's to say they don't expand their ban to include users of other standard medications that you may use? What's to say this won't affect someone you know?

We need to stand up for all gun owners anytime their rights have been infringed upon or threatened. Regardless of what the ban is. Regardless of race, religion, gender, veteran status, medical condition, ect. Giving an inch will only embolden tyrants to take a mile.

I hope you will stand with me and support your fellow Marylanders in voicing your support for HB0415 in 2021.