The nation is once again gripped with gun fever, and debates over gun control are back on the table.
Here in New Mexico, a record-breaking 202,322 guns were sold last year, and you can bet your keister that some of those guns went to cannabis consumers.
The problem stems from a question on Form 4473—the firearm transaction record that is required to purchase a gun from a Federal Firearms License holder—which reads, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” Many gun transactions were being done under the belief that using cannabis in a state where it was legal was doing so “lawfully.” But if a marijuana user answered “no” to this question, they were—knowingly or not—lying on a federal document, a serious crime that can be penalized with a prison sentence.
This issue has largely been ignored, as it straddles two highly charged and controversial advocacy movements—both of which historically garner support from opposite sides of the political spectrum.
Alaskan firearms sales have also spiked during the pandemic, but the population there has always loved their guns.
A federal appeals court had already ruled to uphold the ban on selling firearms to medical cannabis card-holders months before, though, and it seemed like Murkowski was just about the only person who cared about the issue.
The battle to give veterans access to medical cannabis to help treat PTSD and chronic pain has been gaining steam in recent years with support from members of Congress.
It’s highly likely that if the ATF retains its current policy these veterans will be cut off from a potentially life-changing therapy.
For many on both the left and right, this is as it should be, but cannabis users need to realize that as long as the right to bear arms is upheld by the government, barring cannabis users from enjoying that right delineates them as part of a separate class.