The Ninth Circuit recently decided that a citizen does not have a constitutional right to simultaneously hold a medical marijuana registry card and purchase a firearm. In Wilson v. Lynch, Wilson v. Lynch, No. 14-15700, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 16108 (9th Cir. Aug. 31, 2016), the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of an action challenging federal law and administrative guidance prohibiting the sale of firearms to those holding a medical marijuana registry card.
The case was brought by S. Rowan Wilson, who held a medical marijuana registry card under Nevada law. In May 2011, Wilson attempted to purchase a firearm and was required to complete Form 4473 from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”). Wilson declined to answer a question regarding use of illegal drugs. The store owner knew that Wilson held a registry card and refused to sell her a firearm per ATF guidance. This guidance was in the form of an open letter to all federal firearm licensees clarifying that any customer who possesses a medical marijuana card thereby gives licensees “reasonable cause to believe” that such customer is an unlawful user of a controlled substance and prohibited from purchasing firearms.
After being denied, Wilson challenged the law and open letter on constitutional grounds. The court granted the government’s motion to dismiss the case and the Ninth Circuit affirmed. The appellate court applied intermediate scrutiny under the Second Amendment. This requires: (1) the government’s purpose be significant; and (2) a reasonable fit between the regulation and objective. Id. at *16.
Wilson conceded that the purpose (i.e., gun violence prevention) was important and only challenged the policy arguing that there is no reasonable fit between the objective and the regulation. More specifically, Wilson argued that prohibiting all who possess a medical marijuana registry card from acquiring firearms for self-defense was overbroad. The government rebutted with empirical data showing a strong link between drug use and violence.
The court found that there is a reasonable fit between the law and regulations and found it constitutionally permissible to presume registered cardholders are using marijuana in violation of federal law and prohibit their purchase of firearms. While use of medical marijuana is permissible under the laws of several states including Ohio, medical marijuana is still illegal as a Schedule I controlled substance under Federal law.
With Ohio joining many other states in legalizing medical marijuana, the complex interaction of federal and state laws relating to marijuana use is of growing importance. The Wilson opinion is not binding on federal courts in Ohio, but it will likely be persuasive in similar cases across the country.