The Arkansas House of Representatives has passed a bill to clarify that medical marijuana patients can obtain concealed carry licenses for firearms, sending it to the Senate for consideration.
Days after moving through the House Judiciary Committee, the legislation from Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R) passed the full chamber in an 82-5 vote on Tuesday.
Pilkington said on the floor that the state’s medical cannabis law makes it so “no patient’s right or privilege could be infringed upon on the basis of having medical marijuana” but that “this wasn’t extended to concealed carry holders.”
“Federal law says gun rights should not be restricted based on patient status, and so no other prescriptions—whether it be opioids or others—prohibit someone from being able to have a concealed carry license,” he said. “I just believe that should be no different” for cannabis patients.
The Arkansas bill stipulates that a person’s status as a qualified medical cannabis patient in the state cannot be used “in determining whether an applicant is eligible to be issued a license to carry a concealed handgun.”
State statute would also be amended to clarify that participation in the medical marijuana program doesn’t mean that a person is a chronic or
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