They've asked for briefs in two Oregon cases:
Concealed handgun license case clears court hurdle
By Damian Mann
for the Tidings
October 06, 2011 - 2:00 AM
A three-year legal dispute in Jackson County over issuing concealed handgun licenses to medical marijuana patients has piqued the interest of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case involving Sheriff Mike Winters versus Cynthia Willis has cleared an important first hurdle with the high court, which sent out a Sept. 30 letter asking Willis' attorney, Leland Berger, to file a written response to the sheriff's legal arguments.
...
Washington County {also in Oregon}, which lost a similar concealed handgun and medical marijuana case, also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Elmer Dickens, senior assistant counsel for Washington County, said the cases are extremely similar.
"The only difference is the names of the parties," he said.
Dickens said the Supreme Court has also expressed similar interest in his county's case, which could get combined with the one in Jackson County.
Source:
http://m.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111006/NEWS02/110060306/-1/&template=wapartThe fact that the Court has expressed interest in both of these cases is interesting. It's impossible to know what they're up to--the cases went opposite ways.
Personally, I don't see that a person under the influence of marijuana is more dangerous than a person under the influence of alchohol. "Mean pot smoker" isn't a common phrase; "mean drunk" is. Additionally, there are people who are prescribed drugs more potent than marijuana who can still carry--though probably not while under the influence of those drugs.
I wonder what the SCOTUS is more likely up to--protecting the RKBA or expressing their contempt for medical marijuana? What do you think?