To the people that have MM cards:
Does the Federal goverment take away your right to bear arms for using cannabis?
The federal firearms form asks if you have or do use drugs *cannabis*.
Do the rules change if you have a mm card?
Because the way I see it is that it is leagle for you, then in no way should this be used to infringe upon your constitutional rights.
Just 1 of many questions that I cant find an answer for.
Peace

__________________
Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.
George Washington

as far as i know, there is no increased risk with having a firearm while having a MM card in most circumstances. we all know that if you have illegal marijuana, and a gun (loaded or unloaded) nearby, that can mean increased time and possibility of investigation into distribution (dealing).

you just need to make sure that everything is legal with your card. keep your meds locked up, and keep them in a different room from the gun. of course keep the gun unloaded, and keep the ammo in a separate area. the real problem with MM and guns comes when you have done something illegal, the cops find out, and then find the gun which will add to your problems. if you have a gun and some ziplock bags laying around, i can almost guarantee you that the cops will try to slap a 'distribution' charge, or at least use that to get bank records/tax records to make sure you arent selling anything.

right to bear arms is obviously a very well protected right under the constitution, so i would be very surprised if there are any additional rules about guns and MM cards. just remember that since MM is a local law, we arent really going to be able to give you an answer to your question. local laws can often change when it comes to gun rules/regulation as well, so your city/county may have specialized rules. best to check your local laws as well. good luck!

__________________

"Remember, you can never overdose - you can only under-dose. We are just making sure we aren't under-dosing."

I am a medical marijuana patient - my plants and use are covered under State Law. I do not endorse illegal activities in or out of the state/country. So don't tread on me.

Spring '09 Grow Chocolate Thai: http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/back-action-spring-09-grow-7928/

Current Fall '09 'Red Diesel' LED Grow http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/fall-09-pure-led-grow-show-red-diesel-14415/

Off the top of my head.

Depending on state law you can do a private sale (no FFL involved) and never fill out a form 4473. Thus you'd never have to answer that question.

The federal gov doesn't bar people convicted of a state felony from owning a firearm. What Federal law does is 1) bar anyone who has been convicted of a felony in Federal court from owning a firearm and 2) bar anyone who is ineligible to possess firearms under the law of their state of residence.

If you're convicted of a Federal felony, you're SOL. There was a program through which you could get your rights restored, but it has been de-funded. Other than a presidential pardon, you be screwed.

If you're convicted of a felony in state court, well, it all depends on state law. Some states will restore rights automatically after you complete your sentence (often a specific time must elapse with no new convictions). Other states have an expunge process where you petition the state court to remove the felony from your record. Other states require a Govenor's pardon to restore rights. And yet other states have zero means of restoring gun rights (i.e. CA), you can get back voting rights, but never gun rights.

If you get your rights back under state law (for a state conviction) then you're a-ok in the eyes of the Feds. The exception is any DV conviction in state court, in that case the Feds do care about a state conviction, and the state can't do a think about it to restore rights.

So if you have a MMJ card, and it's the local LE that bothers you, you should be ok cause you'll beat it in court. If the Feds knock at your door, all bets are off obviously because they can ignore the "M" part of "M"MJ. If you lose in state court with a local LE charge, there's still a good chance to get your rights restored depending on your past record and future behavior (also depending on state law).

If you're really worried, you could stick to whatever is a misdemeanor offence in your state, if there's an option for that. I.e. in my state possession of less than 40 grams is a misdemeanor. So worst case if you get convicted you shouldn't lose your inalienable rights (ironic huh, 'lose your inalienable rights').

Also, the 4473, iirc, asks if you are using any "illegal' drugs. One could argue that if you use MMJ then you are not using an illegal drug. It is a drug that is legal under state law, and you are taking it on the advice of a Doctor. The form would have to be worded in pretty specific manner for that answer to be a problem (i.e. Do you take any schedule 1 or 2 drugs, not authorized by a Doctor, that is legal under state law but illegal under federal law, etc) -- and iirc it's totally not that detailed of a question.

So in theory you should be fine. Don't end up in Federal court or your screwed. Depending on your state you could be fine in the long run if convicted, but you should beat the charge so it's a theoretical non-issue.

Disclaimers: I'm not a lawyer (thank God), the above is generic off the cuff info, I have never researched how firearms can be an escalating factor to a drug charge. Lastly, I haven't even seen a 4473 in over 20 years ;)

Oh yeah, if the form actually asks that question, where Cannabis is explicitly mentioned, then I'm betting to give any answer other than yes would be perjury. Really inadvisable. If the question is more generic "Do you use illegal drugs," then imho you could probably say no without committing perjury.

Thank you jack_millions, for the well thought out response.
I will never have to worry about having a MMj card, this side of the country is so very uptight and close to the heart of the bible belt. If the feds repealed the cannabis laws and left it up to the state these greedy bas****s would still kick down your door and take you to jail and seize all property in the blink of an eye.

__________________
Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved.
George Washington

From the 10 mmj commandments;

"guns and cards don't mix
like two dicks and no bich
find yourself in serious $hit"

if you catch a case with guns on the property you'll have a 5 year mandatory minimum sitting over your head. It's akin to the risk of having over 99 plants, even if you can legally have over 99 plants. Of course if you have 100 plants and a gun you'll be staring at 10 in a cage.

Keep your guns at a seperate house from where you do anything that could ever be seen as a felony. Or risk sitting in court with 5 years as a (remote) possibility.