Medical Marijuana Card or Right to Bear Arms, You Can’t Have Them Both in Arkansas

By Jenn Jacques

Cancer patients. People living with HIV/AIDS, fibromyalgia, ulcerative colitis, severe arthritis, and Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

These don’t seem like a group of miscreants, do they?

Well, in the state of Arkansas – they are.

According to the Arkansas Department of Health, you can’t have both a medical marijuana card and legally own a firearm. Why? Because pot is illegal on the federal level.

NWA reports:

Robert Reed, a Navy Veteran who served his country for 16 years, suffers PTSD along medical conditions which medical marijuana would help.

Reed said, “I will not apply for a med license, and risk my livelihood and my safety.”

The Arkansas Department of Health said a question they get all the time is whether or not you can own a gun and possess a medical marijuana ID card. Since prescription pot is a Schedule 1 controlled substance, under federal law, you can’t own a gun legally. And federal law supersedes state law.

“If they’re a user of marijuana, although legal in Arkansas, it’s still illegal on the federal level,” explained Robert Brech with Arkansas Department of Health. “It’s very clear you cannot be a marijuana user and pass that check.”

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