A Maryland Senate committee has approved a bill that’s meant to protect gun rights for medical marijuana patients under state law.
About one week after the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee first took up the legislation—as well as a separate proposal to let police search vehicles based on the smell of cannabis—members unanimously passed the firearms bill on Wednesday.
There was no discussion, except that the chair briefly pointed out that “we’ve passed the bill like probably five times” over recent sessions, though the reform has not yet been enacted into law.
Sen. Mike McKay (R) is sponsoring the current legislation, which would protect the rights of registered medical cannabis patients to buy, own and carry firearms under Maryland law, even though they are still restricted from doing so under federal statute.
The Maryland legislature also took up the issue around this time last year, with the House Judiciary Committee holding a hearing on a separate but related measure to ensure medical marijuana patients’ gun rights are protected.
The issue has been raised in multiple state legislatures and federal courts in recent years, as marijuana and gun rights advocates challenge the constitutionality of the federal ban that currently prevents cannabis consumers from
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