The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says that Arkansas’s newly enacted law allowing medical cannabis patients obtain concealed carry firearm licenses creates “an unacceptable risk” and could compromise the state’s alternative firearm licensing policy, which was approved by the federal government.
Arkansas’ law went into effect in August and clarifies that the status of a patient qualified in Arkansas cannot be used to determine whether a person is eligible for a license to conceal a handgun.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the policy change had apparently caught the attention of federal officials in the Justice Department. A letter from Marianna Mitchell, the chief of ATF’s Firearms and Explosives Industry Division to the Operations Director for the Division of Arkansas Crime Information, this week, said that there were “public safety concerns.”
Mitchem informed the official of Arkansas that the federal government had previously informed the state that the alternative gun licensing program, which allows gun purchasers to be approved by the state, without having to go through a background check on federal level, includes a requirement that no firearms can be purchased by “controlled substance users.” This includes medical cannabis patients.
The letter was a threat in disguise, saying that if state department didn’t answer two questions specifically, then it would be necessary to reevaluate Arkansas’s alternative policy on gun permits.
ATF is asking the department for answers to the following questions: 1) How does Arkansas ensure that all current [Concealed Handgun Carry License] holders and applications are not “controlled substance users,” including medical marijuana users? 2) How does Arkansas “conciliate” its gun licensing law to prevent discrimination against cannabis patients with the federal prohibition of firearms possession of individuals who are addicted to or illegal users of any Title 21 controlled substances, which includes marijuana?
Marijuana Moment contacted ATF to obtain a copy of this letter. A representative replied that “ATF doesn’t comment on private correspondence.” State officials didn’t immediately respond to questions.
Rep. Aaron Pilkington, who sponsored the medical cannabis gun legislation recently enacted by the Democrat-Gazette, said that “it sounds like the ATF goes looking for a situation that isn’t there.” He added that he had “consulted with several lawyers” to make sure the legislation was “drafted to be sure that it worked well within the federal legal framework.”
He said, “I’m shocked to find that I have to review the exact words of the letter.”
The ATF official sent the letter the same week a federal appeals court heard an oral argument in a Florida case that challenged the constitutionality of a federal ban on guns for marijuana users.
Before the August hearing, DOJ informed the court that they believed a separate ruling in a marijuana-and-gun rights case in which the federal ban was deemed unconstitutional had been “incorrectly determined”
Attorneys for President Joe Biden’s son Hunter, who has been indicted over a charge that he bought a gun during a period when it was revealed that he used crack cocaine, have cited the previous court ruling on the constitutionality of the federal ban and argued that this applies to their case.
ATF maintains that despite recent rulings the ban on marijuana firearms is clear and enforceable in all states, even those where marijuana is legalized.
issued a warning shortly after Minnesota’s Governor signed the legalization bill in law. The agency reminded that cannabis users are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms and ammunition until federal prohibition is lifted.
ATF will issue an advisory in 2020 that specifically targets Michigan and requires gun sellers conduct federal background checks for all unlicensed buyers. It said Michigan’s cannabis laws allowed “habitual marijuana consumers” and other disqualified persons to obtain firearms without a license.
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Recently updated its cannabis employment policy, despite ATF’s insistence that it must enforce this ban.
The update make it so applicants who’ve grown, manufactured or sold marijuana in compliance with state laws while serving in a “position of public responsibility” will no longer be automatically disqualified–whereas those who did so in violation of state cannabis policies won’t be considered.
Two Republican members of Congress have introduced two bills in this session, focusing on marijuana and gun policy.
Rep. Brian Mast, co-chairman of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a member of the House of Representatives, introduced legislation in May that would protect the Second Amendment right of marijuana users in states where the drug is legal. This bill would allow them to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) has promised to attach that legislation to the bipartisan marijuana banking bill, which advanced out of a committee last month.
Mast is also co-sponsoring in this session a separate Bill from Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV), which would allow medical marijuana patients to buy and possess firearms.
Illinois Officials Highlight “Unprecedented” Growth Of The Legal Marijuana Industry As Cannabis Revenues Outpace Alcohol
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