Pubdate: Thu, 29 Sep 2011
Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA)
Copyright: 2011 Chico Enterprise-Record
Contact:  http://www.chicoer.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861
Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority
Author: Greg Welter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

GUN SALES TO MEDICAL POT USERS A CATCH-22

CHICO -- There's a gigantic Catch-22 for medical marijuana users in 
California seeking to purchase a firearm through a licensed dealer.

Gun sales - officially known as gun transfers - are controlled by 
federal law, which doesn't recognize the use of marijuana under any 
circumstances as a lawful activity.

And Proposition 215 cards cut no mustard with the feds.

Anyone in the market for a firearm must fill out a form that asks, 
among many other things, if they are "an unlawful user of, or 
addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, 
or any other controlled substance."

If a customer checks the "Yes" box at the end of that question, the 
application process ends immediately, said Garret Sinclair, who 
handles firearms transfers for the Tackle Box, a Chico sporting goods store.

He said, to the best of his knowledge, that law has been in place for 
several years.

If the applicant checks the "No" box and is a marijuana user, they 
may be subject to federal perjury charges, according to a letter the 
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reportedly sent 
out to federally licensed gun dealers this week.

Arthur Herbert, the assistant director of enforcement programs and 
services for the ATFE, said his office has received "a number of 
inquiries" about whether medical marijuana patients can own or buy 
guns and ammunition in medical-marijuana states.

"Federal law says marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug 
similar to heroin, in spite of 16 states, including California, 
having passed making the drug legal for medical use. The federal 
government doesn't recognize marijuana as a medicine," Herbert stated 
in the letter.

"Therefore, anyone who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless 
of whether his or her state has passed legislation authorizing 
marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or 
addicted to a controlled substance and is prohibited by federal law 
from possessing firearms or ammunition," he concluded.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom