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In this Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 photo Phil Gruver poses for a photograph with his Pennsylvania with his medical marijuana card in Emmaus, Pa. As gun-loving Pennsylvania becomes the latest state to operate a medical marijuana program, with the first dispensary on track to begin sales next month, authorities are warning patients that federal law bars marijuana users from having guns or ammunition. Gruver is weighing what to do with his .22-caliber rifle and a handgun he keeps for home defense. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
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In this Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018 photo Phil Gruver poses for a photograph in Emmaus, Pa. As gun-loving Pennsylvania becomes the latest state to operate a medical marijuana program, with the first dispensary on track to begin sales next month, authorities are warning patients that federal law bars marijuana users from having guns or ammunition. Gruver, who received a state medical marijuana card in mid-December, is weighing what to do with his .22-caliber rifle and a handgun he keeps for home defense. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Sunday, January 14, 2018 12:42 pm
My guns or my ganja? Firearm-owning pot fans face a choice
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The federal government says grass and guns don't mix, and that is putting gun owners who use marijuana in a potentially uncomfortable position.
Federal law prohibits marijuana users from owning or even possessing guns or ammunition. The government has traditionally taken a hands-off approach.
But the picture has become murkier under Republican President Donald Trump. His attorney general recently put the decision on whether to crack down on marijuana in the hands of federal prosecutors.
It's unclear whether anyone using state-legalized medical marijuana has been prosecuted for owning a gun. The existence of medical marijuana registries in some states, including Pennsylvania, has some patients concerned.
Marijuana activists predict a backlash if federal prosecutors begin going after gun owners who use the drug to treat medical conditions.
