Steve Gill Analysis: If Legalized in Tennessee, Medical Marijuana Users May Sacrifice Right to Own Guns

On Friday, conservative political commentator and Tennessee Star contributor Steve Gill said on The Gill Report, broadcast live on WETR 92.3 FM in Knoxville, that if the bill to legalize medical marijuana currently under consideration in the Tennessee General Assembly becomes law, potential medical marijuana users in the Volunteer State may be faced with a decision: Legally purchase and use medical marijuana and lose your right to own a gun, or keep your right to own a gun and pass on using the newly legalized drug.

“One of the bills that is moving through the legislature that keeps coming close. It looks like it may be advancing a little quicker this time – but with a few more weeks in the legislative session it may still fail. [The bill] is medical marijuana in Tennessee” Gill began.

“Now, there are some problems with this bill, because it’s not just legalizing medical marijuana,” he noted, adding. “You’ve got some of the folks that are pushing recreational marijuana that we’ve seen embraced in states like Colorado recently. But the bill is supposedly limited to medical marijuana.”

Gill continued:

There are critics that say the same doctors that haven’t controlled opioids are unlikely to control medical marijuana any better, and that’s a legitimate question that needs to be raised.

You also have the THC levels of medical marijuana. The THC is the stuff that gets you high if you smoke pot. There are “no THC “and “low THC” alternatives that can be utilized for medical purposes – whether it’s in oil form or vaping or in other ways – that doesn’t have the ‘gets you high’ component that some argue is a much better choice, even though it doesn’t reach everyone that might get some benefits from medical marijuana.

But if you don’t have the ‘gets you high’ component tied to the medical marijuana cards, then you don’t have people trying to get medical marijuana solely because they want the high. It will be legitimately used only by those who are seeking the medical benefits, not to use it as some sort of a ‘getting high’ sort of drug.

The other thing to keep in mind, is that according to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals – a 2016 opinion – they deemed that the irrational and unpredictable behavior that comes from marijuana allows the Federal Government to stop the ownership of guns or distribution of concealed carry permits to anyone that has a medical marijuana card.

So, as you’re seeing this legislation move ahead, some that may want a medical marijuana card in Tennessee, if this legislation passes – will have to choose between whether they want their concealed carry permit card or their medical marijuana card.

“Just again, one of the issues people ought to pay attention to when the policies are being made rather than after the fact,” he concluded.

Listen to the segment: