Feds warn marijuana consumers about new Minnesota legalization law

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reminded people that cannabis users are still prohibited from owning or purchasing guns.

In the ATF St. Paul Field Division’s warning notice, it was stated that until marijuana is legalized federally, the statute states that those who actively consume cannabis will still be subject to the gun prohibition. This policy is currently being challenged by several federal courts.

Jeff Reed, ATF’s Acting Special Agent-in-Charge, said that until marijuana is federally legalized, gun owners and firearms possessors must be aware that mixing marijuana with firearms or ammunition remains illegal.

He stated.

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ATF St. Paul 30 May 2023 HTML0

ATF has also noted that in 2011, it released a clarification stating that “it’s illegal to transfer a gun to anyone knowing or having a reasonable reason to believe that person is an unlawful user of a controlled drug,” regardless of the state laws on cannabis.

The federal court system is currently deciding whether or not the ban on firearms for cannabis users is constitutional .

The Government has appealed this decision of the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Oklahoma, to the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Tenth Circuit.

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 bills have been filed by Republican members of Congress in this session, both 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 last month that would protect the Second Amendment right of marijuana users in states where the drug is legal. This legislation would allow them to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.

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.