Maine Man Challenges Gun Ban For Medical Marijuana Users

By Cam Edwards

A 58-year old man from Maine is challenging the state’s ban on gun possession for those who are “an unlawful user of or is addicted to any controlled substance and as a result is prohibited from possession of a firearm”, arguing that individuals like himself who are certified medical marijuana users are unconstitutionally losing their right to keep and bear arms.

Richard Tonini was originally charged with unlawfully furnishing scheduled drugs as well as illegal firearms possession, but a jury found him not guilty of the drug charges. The jury did, on the other hand, find that Tonini was guilty of illegal gun possession.

Tonini’s attorney, Max Coolidge of Ellsworth, has appealed the conviction — for which Tonini had to pay a $350 fine — to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. In a 29-page brief filed in late September, Coolidge wrote that the law Tonini was found guilty of violating is a “vague criminal statute” that “violates due process because it fails to give citizens effective notice of prohibited conduct.”

The law in question prohibits anyone from possessing a firearm who “is an unlawful user of or is addicted to any controlled substance and as a …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms