Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Throughout the nation, numerous states have decided to legalize marijuana for medical use, if not for recreational use. Medical marijuana is a fair bit less controversial since it’s medical, meaning it goes through a physician, but still, pot is being legalized to varying degrees all over the nation.
However, we often run into a significant problem with medical marijuana, as noted here in a piece about the topic:
4. In Virginia like other states, medical marijuana patients are not allowed to possess a gun or ammunition because of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968.
That’s right. Despite being legalized by the state, marijuana is still considered a schedule 1 controlled substance by the federal government, which means if you’re using it under any circumstances, you can’t legally have a firearm.
And, if you couple this with gun registration, you have a real problem because the state knows who has guns. This isn’t just supposition, either, because it’s happened.
With Joe Biden set to take office tomorrow, it’s a safe bet he’s not going to be interested in doing much of anything that will benefit gun owners. He doesn’t like us and, frankly, the feeling is mutual.
However, he might just be willing to help marijuana users and growers, and that might end up helping us.
See, if Biden were to work with Congress to de-schedule marijuana, lower it to, say, a schedule 2 drug, then it would negate this concern. After all, GCA prohibits people who use or are addicted to illegal drugs. It doesn’t prohibit those who use a lawful substance. By classifying it as a schedule 2 drug, marijuana would have lawful uses under federal law. It wouldn’t be an illegal drug anymore.
While it’s unlikely Biden would listen to, say, the NRA if they pushed this line of reasoning, there are a lot of other people who might push for descheduling it that he might listen to.
In fact, I’d actually be surprised for Biden not to at least float an idea of legalizing marijuana.
He’d better do it early, though, because while it’s popular with progressives, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made her name prosecuting drug offenders. It’s entirely possible that she’ll refuse to legalize anything. While she doesn’t have complete say in the matter, she does have veto power, so nothing is happening unless she’s on board.
Well, that or Congress put aside all its stupid and acts together on something like this.
Look, I know a lot of you aren’t fans of marijuana use. I get it. However, it’s here and the current laws are hurting gun owners, often gun owners who aren’t aware of what is coming because they’re doing what a doctor told them to do.
At the end of the day, if we want our gun rights to matter, we have to be willing to defend them, even for people who do things we may not be particularly fond of but don’t hurt anyone but themselves. That’s just how it is and it’s really just that simple.
Recommended Bearing Arms Video:
Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger and lifetime shooter. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia. He also puts out a daily newsletter of non-Second Amendment stories at https://tomknighton.substack.com/
https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2021/01/19/sticky-issue-medical-marijuana-and-guns/