Cannabis, Guns, Kentucky & 2nd Amendment, Meet The ATF: If You Say 'Yes' To Medical Marijuana, The Answer To Owning A Gun Is 'No'

As Kentucky prepares to roll out its medical cannabis program on Jan. 1, 2025, the already complex issue of gun sales and weed will likely get even more complex due to federal regulations that prohibit marijuana consumers from possessing firearms.

Under federal law, as long as cannabis is classified as a Schedule I substance, which could change if/when President Biden's call to move marijuana to a Schedule III classification is carried out, these complexities involving the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will persist.

ATF Paperwork Is Complicated

The ATF form required for buying a gun includes a question that specifically asks if the buyer is an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana, among other controlled substances. Even if marijuana use is legal on a state level, answering yes to any part of that question can disqualify the individual from being able to buy a firearm.

Gun dealers also have forms to fill out. One Kentucky gun shop owner anticipates new challenges when filling out the ATF Form 4473, the mandatory process for all firearm transactions.

Aaron Reed, owner of Ops Supply, explains that from the moment the store opens, meticulous record-keeping is essential. “I’m not a pro or negative marijuana guy, but I am a pro-Second Amendment,” Reed said to WHAS11, a local ABC outlet. “I feel this could be something that could potentially deny American citizens the right to their Second Amendment.”

Shawn Morrow, ATF's Special Agent of the Louisville Field Division, pointed out that federal law does not recognize state-issued medical marijuana cards. “Individuals who use marijuana, whether or not they have a medical card in Kentucky or any other state, it’s still unlawful under federal law to possess a firearm,” Morrow said.

Don’t Lie To The ATF

Lying on form 4473 is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and/or up to a $250,000 fine, Morrow warned.

However, he admits there is no mechanism in place to raise a red flag for the ATF if a gun buyer has lied on the marijuana question at the point of sale. “Currently, that would not occur absent of criminal history,” he said per the outlet, adding that the ATF’s priority is targeting people who have committed violent crimes. “Individuals who pull the trigger to hurt others in the community, individuals that use guns to protect their drug trade, gang crimes, robberies, those type of things.”

Despite these stringent rules and potential punishment, Reed and Ops Supply general manager Truman Kilburn, agreed that many gun buyers might not be totally truthful about their marijuana usage when they fill out the form. Kilburn said expects once medical marijuana sales get underway in Kentucky, people will take their chances on Form 4473 but Ops Supply will refuse to sell to anyone visibly under the influence of marijuana or alcohol.

“If they still want their firearms through a firearms FFL (Federal Firearms License), then yes, they’ll have to, yeah, if they answer truthfully, then they can’t get them through us,” Kilburn said.

Guns, cannabis and marijuana rescheduling will likely provoke plenty of conversation at the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago this Oct. 8-9. Join us to get more insight into what the wave of weed legalization means for the future of investing in the industry. Hear directly from top executives, investors, advocates, and policymakers. Get your tickets now before prices go up by following this link.

Now read: GOP-Led North Carolina Senate Passes Bill Legalizing Medical Marijuana, Dividing Conservative Senators

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Matthew Sichkaruk on Unsplash and Pixabay on Pexels