WASHINGTON – A
federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld federal regulations that prevented a
woman with a medical marijuana card from buying a firearm in Nevada, in a
ruling that cited the government’s interest in preventing gun violence.

In upholding a
lower-court ruling, a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based Ninth U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals set a legal precedent that lower courts in the western
U.S. states under the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit must follow in similar
cases.

The lawsuit
was brought by S. Rowan Wilson, who in 2011 obtained a medical marijuana card
in Nevada and a few months later sought to buy a firearm in the small town of
Mound House.

The firearms
dealer, who knew Wilson had a medical marijuana card, refused to sell her the
gun, according to court papers.

Like other
firearms dealers, he had received a directive from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) advising dealers against selling guns to
medical marijuana users, according to court papers.

Medical
marijuana is allowed in Nevada and more than 20 other U.S. states, but the drug
remains banned under federal law. 

Wilson, who
claimed she had a medical marijuana card but did not use the drug, filed a
lawsuit in Nevada against the federal government, claiming her rights under the
U.S. Constitution were violated by the ATF letter to gun dealers.

In 2014, a
district court judge granted a motion from federal attorneys to dismiss the
case, prompting Wilson to appeal the decision. The Ninth Circuit panel upheld
the lower-court’s decision to throw out the case.

The appeals
court, in a 30-page opinion from Judge Jed Rakoff, acknowledged Wilson’s right
to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution had been
infringed to some extent.

But it said
the government had a “substantial interest” in preventing gun
violence by seeking to prevent drug users from possessing firearms and that it
was reasonable to assume someone with a medical pot card would use the drug. 

“It is
beyond dispute that illegal drug users, including marijuana users, are likely
… to experience altered or impaired mental states that affect their judgment
and that can lead to irrational or unpredictable behavior,” Rakoff wrote
in the opinion.

A
representative for the National Rifle Association could not immediately be
reached for comment. 

“Seriously
ill patients who use medical marijuana should be treated the same as patients
who use any other doctor-approved medication,” the Marijuana Policy
Project said in a statement.