HPD won’t take guns from medical marijuana users
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A shopper holds a Glock 42 pistol at a gun store in Pompano Beach, Fla. in 2016.
The Honolulu Police Department will not enforce a controversial policy requiring legal marijuana patients to turn in their guns.
The department issued a notice Tuesday, saying it is consulting with other governmental agencies, as well as reviewing recent court rulings regarding the issue. HPD said it will, however, continue to deny new firearm permits to applicants with medical marijuana cards.
“This is a new area of concern for cities across the country, and we in Honolulu want to develop a policy that’s legally sound and serves our community,” HPD Chief Susan Ballard said in a news release. “Formulating the policy will take time, but we want to do it right.”
The reconsideration follows community backlash since the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported last week that HPD has sent letters to at least 30 medical cannabis users who are permitted gun owners telling them to surrender their firearms.
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The letter, dated Nov. 13, informed gun owners that they had 30 days to bring in or transfer all firearms.
