Oregon Court: Medical Pot Users Can Have Guns

GRANTS PASS, Oregon (AP) — The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that people in the state with medical marijuana cards can also carry concealed weapons.

The court ruled Thursday that a federal law barring criminals and drug addicts from buying firearms does not excuse sheriffs from issuing concealed weapons permits to people who qualify, including those who hold medical marijuana cards.

The woman who had brought the case, retired bus driver Cynthia Willis, says she feels "like a big girl now" because the court found medical marijuana patients should be treated like everyone else.

Oregon became one of the first states in U.S. to authorize people to use marijuana to treat medical conditions when voters approved an initiative in 1998.

More than 30,000 Oregonians hold medical marijuana patient cards.