JUSTICES WON'T HEAR MEDICAL MARIJUANA GUN CASE FROM WASHINGTON COUNTY

The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 9 decided to pass on hearing Sansone
v. Gordon, a Washington County case prohibiting local authorities
from denying concealed handgun licenses to medical marijuana users
based on federal narcotics laws.

Attorneys who serve as clerks for the U.S. Supreme Court essentially
filter which cases are even discussed by the nine individual U.S.
Supreme Court Justices. After that, at least three or four Justices
must agree to hear the case. Only about 5 percent of cases are ever heard.

Affirmed in May of 2011 by the Oregon Supreme Court, the case holds
that the requirements for an Oregon Concealed Handgun License don't
necessarily interfere with the ability to enforce the federal law.

Washington County Senior Assistant Counsel Elmer Dickens says filing
a petition for a writ of certiorari with the High Court was a way of
asking whether state's rights pre-empt federal drug law, rather than
as a political statement on the efficacy of Oregon's Medical Marijuana Act.

The federal Gun Control Act forbids narcotics users from owning guns
and the federal supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution says courts
should not presume state statutes have predominance, Dickens said in
July of 2011.

"The Constitution and the laws of the United States shall be the
supreme law of the land, anything in the constitutions or laws of any
state to the contrary notwithstanding," the clause states.

When a June 2011 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court said federal law
pre-empted state law regarding regulation of generic drug labels, it
seemed to fly in the face of the Sansone ruling, Dickens said at the time.

"This is about whether this presents an obstacle to enforcing the
federal law. And we continue to hold that it does," Dickens said. "In
the past, state courts have gone out of their way to avoid federal
pre-emption. That's not the way the law should work. Maybe we've gone
too far in state rights and maybe we need to turn this back in
another direction."

The Washington County Office of County Counsel deferred further
comment to the County Sheriff's Office.

In 2007, Washington County Sheriff Rob Gordon revoked or denied CHL's
to Steven Schwerdt, Paul Sansone and Lee Wallick on the basis they
disclosed having used a controlled substance, medical marijuana.
Gordon said the federal law precluded him from issuing the licenses,
because it prohibits controlled substance users from possessing
firearms, or even ammunition.

The trio sued, saying Oregon law superseded the federal statute.
Washington County Judge Steven Price agreed, saying Oregon and
federal law were not in clear and direct conflict.

After rolling it into a similar case from Jackson County, the state
Court of Appeals affirmed Price's ruling in 2009 under the case name
Willis v. Winter. Both counties appealed that decision to the state
Supreme Court.

In the Oregon Supreme Court opinion, the majority opinion by Paul de
Muniz states: "A marijuana user's possession of a CHL does not in any
way preclude full enforcement of the federal law by federal law
enforcement officials."

Gordon has since retired, but new Sheriff Pat Garrett says his office
has been in compliance with the law since the original ruling, and
will continue to issue concealed handgun licenses to law-abiding
medical marijuana card holders.

"In light of the Supreme Court's decision not to review the case, we
will be evaluating our applications for controlled handgun licenses
to see if the questions need to be changed in any way," Garrett said.