Regardless of your thoughts on gun laws in America, there are many people in the population that consider the ownership of a firearm a right to every citizen. It is usually quite easy to get your hands on a gun if you want one in the USA, but if you are a medical marijuana user, it can be difficult.
Some of the exceptions for gun ownership in the United States come down to people under the age of 18, people with violent criminal histories, people with a history of mental health, and patients that have a medical marijuana card.
Medical marijuana patients are not able to obtain a medical marijuana card because they are often grouped into the status of being a violent criminal under the gun control act. Anyone that is at risk of being addicted to a controlled substance can be denied a firearm in the USA.
This mandate was appealed in a letter from 2011 that argued a medical marijuana card should not dictate an automatic refusal of a firearm in the USA. Any ruling on the card not affecting the status of a firearm registration was denied.
Medical marijuana cards are registered in a government database and there is an automatic flag on any background check if an applicant is a suspected user of marijuana. The ATF will allow an exception of a medical cannabis patient to have a gun in their home if their spouse purchases the firearm and does not have a card themselves.
Recreational marijuana users are still able to access firearms as long as there is no marijuana-related charges on their record. The other method that can be used to get around this issue is to go to an unlicensed dealer through a gun show. The background check will not need to be performed but the price may be inflated and extra taxes may be required in the form of a 22% firearm sales tax.
The largest concern if you have worked to receive a weapon and you regularly possess marijuana is that you could be violating the gun rights act. If you possess a firearm, you are around people that have large quantities of marijuana and you have a firearm, you could be charged for violating the gun rights act.
It is important to be careful with the law if you are planning on accessing a firearm and you are a medical marijuana user!
This post was written by Flo Sugyatno, operations manager of LOCAL’d and cannabis expert. LOCAL’d is a helping hand to the companies that strengthen your community in the Washington, DC area. Helping them to grow through financial and promotional support, LOCAL’d is one of the best Washington DC weed stores!
