Hunter must surrender gun license according to cannabis regulation

VGH Munich: Anytime careful use of weapons no longer safe
Anyone who is permanently prescribed cannabis by his doctor must hand in an optional firearm license. This also applies to a hunter, as the Bavarian Administrative Court (VGH) in Munich in a Wednesday, January 31, 2018, announced an emergency decision (Az .: 21 CS 17.1521).

A doctor had prescribed the hunter from the Upper Bavarian district Miesbach cannabis as a permanent medication. Since March 2017, this is also permitted at the expense of the statutory health insurance, if the drug at least promises relief for a "serious illness" and there are no reasonable conventional medical alternatives for treatment.

(Image: Elroi / fotolia.com)

As the district office Miesbach, it demanded the hunter to a professional psychology report. The expert came to the conclusion that the hunter was no longer suitable for possession of weapons. Then the district office revoked the firearm card and withdrew the gun license.

On the other hand, the hunter complained. With an express application, he also wanted to ensure that the effect of the decision of the authorities is suspended until a verdict in the main proceedings.

This rejected the VGH Munich now. According to the Weapons Act, a gun owner must be able to use his weapon "carefully and properly at all times and in all respects". With daily multiple inhalation of cannabis flowers this is not guaranteed.

As justification, the VGH referred to the expert reports to date on regular cannabis use. According to this, "an always reliable behavioral control when dealing with weapons and ammunition" is not guaranteed.

In the opinion of the Munich judges, this is also transferable to a medically prescribed long-term medication with cannabinoids substances. In any case, so far there is no sufficient evidence that the effect of a medically-based cannabis use differs significantly from that of an abusive consumption. In particular, medical studies on "Cannabis users with specific medical problems without drug history" have been missing so far.

Performance and behavioral restrictions could therefore not be ruled out with sufficient certainty, even with medically prescribed and supervised continuous use.

The fact that cannabis patients do not automatically have to hand over their driver's license is not contrary to that, it is supplemented by the decision of January 5, 2018, which has already been published in writing. Safety is far more important in the weapons law than in driving license law. mwo