Portland, ME —-(Ammoland.com)- Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF) filed a “friend of the court” brief in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, sitting as the Law Court, in the case of State of Maine v. Richard A. Tonini, asking the Court to hold that the mere possession of marijuana does not render a person prohibited from possessing firearms. The brief is available online at FPCLegal.org.
The case stems from a non-violent police encounter, where Richard Tonini, the appellant in the case, was pulled over by a Maine State Trooper for a traffic infraction. During the stop, the officer inquired as to a plastic bag in the vehicle’s back seat, which he believed to be marijuana. After confirming its contents, Mr. Tonini admitted to possessing two firearms. Mr. Tonini was charged with furnishing scheduled drugs and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Ultimately, at trial, Mr. Tonini was acquitted of furnishing scheduled drugs but convicted of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
The Supreme Judicial Court invited interested parties to address three questions:
- Can a person who possesses marijuana be determined to be “an unlawful user of or . . . addicted to any controlled substance” within the meaning of the firearms possession prohibition in 15 M.R.S. § 393(1)(G) (2018)?
- What effect, if any, does an acquittal on a charge of furnishing a scheduled drug have on the State’s ability to establish that the defendant was prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to section 393(1)(G)?
- What is the test for evaluating the constitutionality of section 393 in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008), and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 742 (2010)?
“Based on our research, and as our brief explains, a person who merely possesses marijuana cannot automatically be deemed an ‘unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance’,” said FPC Director of Legal Strategy, attorney, and the brief’s lead author, Adam Kraut. “Nothing in the record indicates Mr. Tonini had previously ingested marijuana, was arrested for marijuana, or was ‘addicted to’ marijuana. Further, based on the Supreme Court’s straightforward categorical method for examining laws that infringe on rights protected under the Second Amendment, Mr. Tonini’s right to keep and bear arms cannot be restricted on the trial record.”
Support our work to help this important case prevail here!
About Firearms Policy Coalition
Firearms Policy Coalition (www.firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)(4) grassroots nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to defend the People’s rights, especially the human right to keep and bear arms, promote individual liberty, and restore freedom.
About Firearms Policy Foundation
Firearms Policy Foundation (www.firearmsfoundation.org) is a 501(c)(3) grassroots nonprofit organization. FPF’s mission is to defend the Constitution of the United States and the People’s rights, privileges and immunities deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition, especially the inalienable, fundamental, and individual right to keep and bear arms.
Hemp rope if it comes to that…
You have to look at the bigger picture. The push to legalize drugs is a two fold attack on our 2A rights. The gov. can say “using drugs makes you ineligible to possess firearms” AND, if they get everyone high enough, they won’t care about losing our 2A rights. Just something to think about.
General Jack Ripper, still denying women his precious bodily fluids.
Wow 6 downvotes. An all time high. 1. I wonder how many down voters smoke dope, use it as a lawful medicinal substance, or have a financial interest in its sales and own guns ? 2. I also wonder how many are psychotherapists treating persons with schizophrenia, council in addiction centers, or see first hand the effects of the illegal drug trade and marijuana as a gateway drug? 3.Any one in law enforcement for dope use and gun rights ? 4. Or are the usual clan of leftist trolls posting in favor of dopers and guns trying to push gun… Read more »
Will, hemp, not Marijuana. Hemp is still grown in other countries because the fibers are used for many purposes, none of which involve smoking it. The THC levels in hemp are too low to be useful for use as a drug. Virginia has begun to redevelop hemp farming. The hemp is tested to ensure minimal levels of THC, which, if too high, would make it illegal. Marijuana was not made illegal due to DuPont. Hemp was also banned because it contains THC and looks similar to Marijuana. There was no competition between DuPont’s synthetic fibers and hemp fibers, they had… Read more »
Federal Form 4473, Question 11 e. Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside. The technicality they are arguing is a mighty thin strand considering that the statement after the question does state possession is still illegal federally. Also, Tonini admits to being a Marijuana user, which, since it is an illegal substance, makes him… Read more »
The doorway to legally prescribed drugs is just an open door for teenagers to steal it from their parents medicine cabinets, as it is for street thugs who steal it in bulk from shipping docks. No matter what precautions you put in place, people will always find a way to subvert it. Stop drugs in one country, and they just come in from another via submarine in the still of the night on some remote coastline. If you saw the movie “Mule” with Clint Eastwood, if anything, it demonstrates how easy it is to get sucked up into something like… Read more »
The founding fathers did not face narco terrorists, islamic terrorists funded by the illegal drug trade, terrorist nation states that are working to undermine American security and safety by drugging its youth. Marijuana is a proven gateway drug and contributing factor to mental illness, crime, and in spite of liberal states legalizing recreational use in the hope it would stop narco terrorists from smuggling marijuana into the US the Narcos have grown their US operations and destroying the environment with chemical pesticides and fertilizers, damming streams and killing proteced species. All to feed the addiction of Americas addicts and criminals.… Read more »