Cannabis and the Second Amendment: A Word of Warning

The ATF released clarification for firearm owners on May 30 following the passage of cannabis legalization in Minnesota, reminding them that they no longer have a right to own or possess guns or ammunition until federal law is changed, that is, if they smoke or eat, or vape the newly legalized devil’s lettuce.

Please Read: ATF Provides Clarifications to Minnesota’s New Marijuana Law.

If you were to ask a convicted felon if he had the right to own a firearm, his answer would be no. They know this because they have been told by the court that the Second Amendment no longer applies to them due to their felony conviction, and they know that if they are caught with a firearm or even ammunition they face a longer prison sentence illegal possession of a firearm than for the new crime they are caught doing.

If you were to ask someone who has never been convicted of anything but has a medical marijuana ID card or lives in a state where cannabis is now legal and enjoys occasional use if they think they have a right to possession or has possession If it is a firearm, of course they would say yes, but they would be wrong.

I’m really writing this as a public statement in the hopes that more of my friends don’t end up in jail for gun possession and possession of guns they thought were legal, because the cannabis community seems to be doing me don’t understand that the federal government strips you of your second amendment rights the moment you pick up a joint, and it doesn’t matter if the state you live in is legal or not, or if you die of cancer .

Once you smoke a Category 1 substance, hit a bong, smoke Aj, eat a brownie, vaporize, or otherwise ingest, you completely lose your right to possess, possess, or handle any type of firearm or ammunition.

Or as the 9th Circuit pointed out in Wilson vs. Lynch:

“Regarding federal firearms regulations, under 18 USC § 922(g)(3), no person “who is illegally using or dependent on a controlled substance” may “possess.” . . or . . . receive any firearm or ammunition.’ In addition, it is unlawful for any person to sell or otherwise dispose of firearms or ammunition to any person who knows or has reason to believe that that person is… . . is an illegal user of, or is addicted to, a controlled substance.’”

Worse still, what the federal court defines as an “unlawful user” has nothing to do with your state’s laws, only the Controlled Substances Act and the fact that cannabis is currently a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

State law is always superseded by federal law. When you walk into a federal courtroom, state laws are invalid, a federal judge will not listen to the defendant’s argument that any state law takes precedence over the United States Constitution. Thus, even if states enact medicinal cannabis laws that specifically do not exempt a medicinal cannabis user from any other rights, the medicinal cannabis user still loses the right under federal law to own and possess a firearm or ammunition.

So if you are a medical cannabis patient or recreational cannabis user and you are caught by the federal government on any charge, your guns will be used against you to extend your sentence and buy you more time in federal prison.

I know many of you would say that politics is very hypocritical about the way wineries or beer makers are treated, but we live in the age of hypocrisy and more than anything I hate to see that extra jail time is being imposed on good people for growing cannabis simply for being in possession of a firearm, even an antique firearm inherited from a person’s father and kept only for sentimental reasons, the federal government will use this as a reason to give you extra time give.

Prosecutors call them “improvements” to a sentence, and they’re happy to use them because it gives them leverage over the defendant, who is now facing an otherwise indecently long prison sentence, not because of the cannabis itself, but because of the guns. Gun upgrades have been a trap used by cops and prosecutors in the war on drugs for decades. But back then, criminals understood the rules of engagement and realized they were carrying an illegal firearm, yet today, otherwise law-abiding citizens are at risk because of doing something perfectly legal in the state in which they live, and not because of the conflict faced with federal laws and Given that the federal government IS the Second Amendment, the mere possession of firearms makes them criminals in the eyes of the federal government and the courts.

Not only do we live in a hypocritical time, we live in a strange time in history where, as a society, we have forgotten that privacy matters and traded our security for “likes” on Instagram. I’m sure the police departments and the federal government love the fact that most people don’t need someone to rat them out for giving themselves away. I can’t tell you how many Instagram profiles I’ve seen with cannabis fields or indoor grow rooms looking beautiful, and then with guns or targets from the gunfight. You know what I’m talking about, you’ve seen it too, and the police who monitor social media know it too.

I’m not saying this to sound like a conspiracy nut or to make you paranoid because I’m not, because everything I say is factual. I say that because a lot of people seem to be picking the laws they want to abide by, because you might like the Second Amendment, but you might also like the fact that your state has legalized cannabis, and now you feel that You have a right to grow or smoke what you do. But you have to be aware that you are giving up one right for another, because if you keep your guns it will be the same government that you were regarding for most of the 20th century and early 21st century Cannabis has lied to them Use these weapons against you in your court as well.

In short, if you think the Second Amendment guarantees you the right to bear arms, you’re right. But you give up that right as soon as you pick up and consume any cannabis product, medicinal or not.

The ATF has updated form 4473 to include question 11e. If you lie on this form, you face one year in federal prison for merely lying. So please keep this in mind when trying to buy a new gun because if you lie and they find out and you are denied purchase of the firearm, you will be charged with lying on the form in federal court.

“11e.: Are you an illegal (remember, this is federal law, not state law) user of, or addicted to, marijuana or other tranquilizers, stimulants, narcotics, or other controlled substances? Warning: Use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under federal law, regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medical or recreational purposes in the state in which you reside.”

You may be wondering: how does this affect the firearms I already own? And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you no longer have the right to own and possess guns or even ammunition if you are a medical marijuana card holder or even in a legal state using cannabis recreationally. If you are ever arrested by the federal government, they will confiscate all of your guns because they believe technically your right to even own ammunition was null and void when you chose to violate federal law and become a Schedule 1 controlled substance to use.

If you think that’s hypocritical, you’re right. If you think cannabis growers should have the same rights as people who produce alcohol or run a winery, then you’re right. But to be legal and not just right, you have to do something about federal laws and demand equal rights at the federal level. They will have to fight for federal cannabis legalization just as we had to fight for state cannabis legalization. Because until you change federal laws, you can’t refer to a federal law or the Second Amendment and say it gives you liberty while ignoring the other federal laws that say you don’t have them if you violate any of their other laws.

So to all my friends who are Second Amendment advocates, please stop endangering the freedom of you and your family by publicly promoting on Instagram or Facebook the guns you own, neatly displayed next to yours garden and its products. And while you’re thinking about it, please take some time, call your representatives and ask them for a solution to this legal conundrum, because otherwise we’ll all have to demand equal rights, or we’ll never see them.

Don’t shoot the messenger and stay safe.