- Air Force veteran
- September 2017 Successfully led a campaign to increase medical marijuana access to those diagnosed with PTSD
- 2019 working on a bill to restore Second Amendment Rights to Medical Marijuana patients
- DC Project – Delaware Delegate
About Kim Petters
Kim Petters is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served ten years, including overseas deployments, and later retired to Delaware, where she became an advocate for veterans and for the gun rights of medical marijuana patients. As president of the Women’s Veterans Collective, she pushed for easier access to Delaware’s medical cannabis program for veterans with PTSD after waiting eight months to be approved herself. In September 2017 Governor John Carney signed the so-called Bravery Bill, which allowed any properly licensed physician, not only a psychiatrist, to certify PTSD patients for the program.
Petters drew national attention in August 2019 when she explained that her state-legal medical marijuana use barred her from buying a firearm. Because federal law still treats marijuana as a controlled substance, buyers must disclose its use on the ATF background check form; answering “no” would be a false statement and answering “yes” leads to a denial. She described cannabis as the only medication that forces patients to choose between their medicine and their Second Amendment rights. Delaware lawmakers later passed a bill clarifying that medical marijuana patients could possess firearms, but Governor Carney vetoed it in October 2022, citing the conflict with federal law.
Key Facts
- Ten years of service in the U.S. Air Force
- September 2017: Delaware Bravery Bill eases medical cannabis access for PTSD patients
- August 19, 2019: Featured in national coverage of the medical marijuana gun purchase ban
- October 2022: Governor Carney vetoes Delaware bill on medical marijuana patients and firearms
Sources
- WISH-TV: Air Force Veteran Denied Gun Over Medical Marijuana Used to Combat PTSD
- Ganjapreneur: Delaware Makes MMJ Access for PTSD Patients Easier
- Delaware Public Media: Carney Vetoes Bill on Gun Ownership for Medical Marijuana Patients
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