A Pennsylvania law that explicitly blocks medical cannabis patients from owning guns is under fire.
According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the state’s Uniform Firearms Act says medical marijuana cardholders cannot own any guns. This state law is in addition to a federal law that prohibits drug users from purchasing firearms — which has led to numerous lawsuits filed against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
Gun rights advocacy group, the Second Amendment Foundation, filed a lawsuit in January against Attorney General Merrick Garland and the directors of the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The suit includes a Pennsylvania veteran who was prescribed medical marijuana but chose to forego treatment in favor of maintaining access to his firearms.
In February, State Sen. Daniel Laughlin (R) introduced SB 1146, which would amend Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act to no longer designate medical cannabis patients as unlawful users. If passed, the bill would not override federal restrictions but would make it possible for patients to buy guns if the federal policy is ever changed.
Minn. Negotiates Joint Cannabis Market With Tribes
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) is reportedly in negotiations with the state’s tribal nations to discuss making them major players in the state’s recreational marijuana industry.
Under Minnesota law, tribes are considered sovereign nations and can make their own cannabis laws as they see fit. But state leaders are looking to create a compact that would make it easier for tribes to take part in the state’s recreational-use market by addressing jurisdictional issues and creating regulatory avenues for back-and-forth trade.
According to MinnPost, the Walz administration says negotiations are progressing in a positive direction, and officials are even discussing allowing off-reservation cannabis businesses that are owned and operated by tribal members.
Some advocates say the negotiations are taking too long, but officials say they are taking their time to ensure that whatever agreement is reached benefits all parties.
Alaska Looks to Create Psychedelic Task Force
An Alaska state Senate panel has advanced a measure that would create a psychedelics task force in the event that drugs like LSD, psilocybin or MDMA are legalized by the federal government.
The bill, sponsored by Alaska Rep. Jennie Armstrong (D), was passed only days earlier by the state’s House of Representatives before the Senate Judiciary Committee passed it last week without objection. If passed into law, the bill would create a task force that would spend a year considering how to regulate and license psychedelic mental health therapy in Alaska and would publish a report with policy recommendations by January 31, 2025.
The bill would not legalize the drugs, however. Instead, it would prepare policies that would be enacted if and when the federal government legalizes them.