COURT: MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT CAN HAVE CONCEALED HANDGUN LICENSE

Jackson County Weighs Appeal of Oregon Supreme Court Ruling

The Oregon Supreme Court has shot down Jackson County Sheriff Mike
Winters' refusal to issue concealed handgun licenses to law-abiding
residents who are medical marijuana patients.

Cynthia Willis, a 54-year-old Gold Hill resident who has a medical
marijuana card, celebrated her victory by taking aim at targets at
the Sports Park gun range in White City.

"It's awesome for the state and the country that we are going to be
treated equally," Willis said. "It was nice to have that affirmation."

Ryan Kirchoff, attorney for Jackson County, said the county will
weigh its legal options and study Thursday's court ruling before
deciding its next move.

"The county will consider appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court very
soon," he said.

Winters initially denied Willis a concealed handgun license in 2008,
citing the U.S. Gun Control Act of 1968, which prohibits anyone who
uses or is addicted to a controlled substance from having a firearm.

Willis, who uses cannabis for muscle spasms and arthritis pain,
admitted to using medical marijuana when she filed her application
with the sheriff for a concealed handgun license.

The Supreme Court didn't agree with any of the legal theories Winters proposed.

Sheriff Bob Gordon of Washington County had a similar case that was
combined with Winters'. Gordon had denied licenses to three medical
marijuana patients.

"We hold that the Federal Gun Control Act does not preempt the
state's concealed handgun licensing statute and, therefore, the
sheriffs must issue (or renew) the requested licenses," the court ruled.

Willis so far has won every legal battle against Winters, with the
Jackson County Circuit Court and the Oregon Court of Appeals siding
with her last year. After losing the Court of Appeals case, Winters
granted Willis a concealed handgun license while he pursued the
appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Attorney General John Kroger and the American Civil Liberties Union
of Oregon also sided with Willis.

Willis volunteers with Patient Services, a nonprofit group that helps
people obtain medical marijuana cards.

She said her license has nothing to do with protecting her cannabis.

"I travel alone, and I want to be safe," Willis said.

Kirchoff, in a prepared statement, said the Oregon Supreme Court
accepts only 5 to 7 percent of cases for review, indicating that the
court found the case presented a legitimate and particularly
difficult constitutional issue.

He said the county disagrees with the ruling, particularly the
court's opinion that Oregon law regarding handguns is not in conflict
with the Gun Control Act.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the Gun Control Act
specifically renounces any congressional intent to preempt state law
unless it is in "direct and positive" conflict with the federal act.

Winters, who was reportedly ill, was unavailable for comment Thursday.

The sheriff discovered that Willis is a medical marijuana patient
when she filled out the application for a concealed handgun license.
In addition to the questions required to satisfy Oregon law, Winters
added his own questions, such as whether the applicant used medical marijuana.

Willis' attorney Leland Berger said, "There isn't any reason to ask
any applicant if they use medical marijuana or otherwise. They should
just knock it off."

Berger said he's hopeful Jackson County will reach the same
conclusion as Washington County and not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"It would be a waste of taxpayer resources," he said.

Berger said states have considerable latitude in devising their own
laws, pointing out that Oregon has developed a way to allow the
medical use of marijuana even though federal law considers it a
controlled substance.

"The fact is the federal government cannot commandeer the states," he said.

Oregon has almost 40,000 medical marijuana patients, and Jackson
County has more than 5,100, second most in the state after Polk
County, which has almost 6,800, according to state public health statistics.

While Willis practiced with her Walther P22 handgun Thursday, Greg
Martin, a 35-year-old Central Point man, reflected on the Supreme
Court ruling while taking time out from target practicing.

He said he didn't see any difference between someone with a
prescription for Vicodin or someone with a medical marijuana card
having a concealed handgun license.

"It's OK for someone taking pain pills to shoot out here, so why not
medical marijuana?" he said.

Martin said he has friends with medical marijuana cards who would
like a concealed handgun license, so he applauded the Supreme Court ruling.

"I think it's wonderful," he said.