OREGON GUN RULING A VICTORY FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

Oregon's 32,929 medical marijuana users can't be denied concealed
handgun licenses, despite the efforts of at least two sheriffs who
want to keep concealed weapons out of those hands.

The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled this week that Washington County
Sheriff Rob Gordon and Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters were
mistaken in their interpretation of the federal Gun Control Act. The
act states that "an unlawful user ... of any controlled substance"
can't own a gun, and the sheriffs contended the federal act trumps
Oregon's medical marijuana law. Though federal law prohibits
marijuana, Oregon's 12-year-old law legalizes pot possession for
patients with qualifying ailments and a doctor's approval.

Leland Berger, who represented four medical marijuana users who were
denied concealed handgun licenses, was relieved by the Court of
Appeals decision. He sees the sheriffs' denial of licenses as
discrimination against patients who use cannabis to treat debilitating
health problems -- including cancer, glaucoma, seizures, nausea and
severe pain.

"They are opposed to the law generally, and this is how they express
their opposition to the law," Berger said, adding that fighting the
cases was expensive for the counties. "The downside is it's a huge
waste of taxpayer resources."

Elmer Dickens, who argued the case for the Washington County sheriff,
took offense at Berger's characterization.

"We absolutely don't think this has anything to do with
discrimination," Dickens said. "And frankly, he's impugning the
integrity of every sheriff in the state."

Dickens said Washington County was the first in the state to ask
applicants seeking concealed gun licenses whether they use medical
marijuana and to deny those who said yes. He said sheriffs in many
other counties -- including Coos and Douglas -- followed, seeing
Washington County's logic: that sheriffs are sworn to enforce the law
and federal law forbids pot smokers from possessing guns.

Multnomah County asks applicants the same question, but a sheriff's
employee who handles applications said medical marijuana users aren't
denied licenses. Clackamas County doesn't ask. State law doesn't
direct counties to do so.

Washington County hasn't decided whether to appeal to the Oregon
Supreme Court. Sheriff Gordon is on vacation and couldn't be reached
for comment. Douglas County Sheriff Winters also couldn't be reached
for comment.

At the center of the case is Steve Schwerdt, who used marijuana and
other medications for debilitating back and knee pain that is so bad
he sometimes can't walk. Washington County denied him a concealed
handgun renewal, he fought it, and in 2005 Circuit Judge Marco
Hernandez ruled in his favor -- a county attorney says because he
couldn't prove Schwerdt actually owned a gun. Washington County later
pulled Schwerdt's license, Schwerdt went to court again, and Circuit
Judge Steven Price ruled in favor of Schwerdt and two other cannabis
cardholders.

The county turned to the Court of Appeals.

"I'm getting tired of having to go through this over and over again,"
Schwerdt said.

Schwerdt said he feels as if the sheriff has put him in the same
category as heroin addicts.

"The first time around I sat there and felt like I was a junkie,"
Schwerdt said. "They treat you like you're something that you're not
- -- a criminal and the sort. And I'm not."

Although medical marijuana users who practice the Second Amendment
celebrated the appellate ruling, their legal standing remains unclear.

In April, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that medical marijuana users
can be fired for drug use. Specifically, in overturning a Court of
Appeals ruling, the high court said federal law requiring employers to
accommodate disabled workers doesn't cover medical marijuana users.

Adding to the murkiness, the Obama administration last year told
federal authorities not to arrest or prosecute medical marijuana
users. A tally at the time showed 14 states, including Washington and
California, allowed some medical marijuana use.

The Oregon Firearms Federation has no problem with medical marijuana
cardholders carrying concealed weapons -- or for that matter, any
law-abiding citizen, said federation director Kevin Starrett.