Under current federal law, pot smokers essentially forfeit their Second Amendment rights.
Three Republican lawmakers are hoping to change that with the Gun Rights And Marijuana (GRAM) Act, which would make it legal for citizens to both exercise their right to keep and bear arms and consume cannabis in states that have legalized weed for recreational and medicinal purposes.
“State-legal marijuana use should not be used as a pretext to bar individuals from purchasing or possessing firearms, which is a clear and well-defined Constitutional right,” said U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) in a press release obtained by GunsAmerica.
“I’ve long believed that laws regulating the production and use of marijuana should be left to the states, not the federal government,” he continued. “With more and more states legalizing marijuana each year, we have to make sure that we are protecting the Second Amendment rights of Americans who reside in those states and use marijuana legally based on their state’s laws.”
Retail gun purchasers are familiar with the ATF’s Form 4473, the firearms transaction record, know that question 21 clearly requires the buyer to attest that they are “not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.”
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It goes on to make clear that “The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized.” Cannabisseurs are therefore stuck with a hard choice, either they give up their guns or they perjury themselves on a government form.
“The federal government has no business unduly restricting responsible citizens from exercising their rights or restricting states from listening to their constituents and reforming marijuana laws,” said co-sponsor Rep. Don Young (R-AK). “The GRAM Act bridges this gap. Given that it deals with both gun and marijuana rights, there really is something for those on both sides of the aisle to support.”
Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the third sponsor, is adamant that “individual states to determine their own marijuana laws, not the federal government… This legislation makes it so individuals who use marijuana in a State that permits legal adult-use are still able to purchase firearms.”
According to DISA.com, only six states have yet to decriminalize or legalize Mary Jane:
The legislation will be referred to a House committee for review.
The GRAM Act is a no brainer and needs to be passed. The same rules should apply when using and sobering up after the use of marijuana as that of drinking alcohol. When under the influence of alcohol the law states one is not able to carry or use a firearm until enough time has passed that a person is no longer intoxicated and once that time has passed a person is then free to do so. This logic should be the same for marijuana as one does not stay “high” forever but only for a few hours, all dependent on how much a person smokes, vapes, consumes, etc.
Colorado, as an example, added to their Constitution, SECTION 14 OF ARTICLE XVIII, a protection for the 2A rights of Medical Marijuana users stating “a person is not considered to be ineligible to possess a firearm pursuant to federal law nor considered to be an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance because of the possession or use of medical marijuana pursuant to the Colorado constitution.”