Washington Makes You Decide Between Medical Marijuana & Guns

Medical marijuana and owning guns are both legal in the state of Washington. But before you’re all like, oh, that is really scary/fun, don’t worry/get too excited because the feds are not going to let those two things coexist.

If you have a medical prescription for pot, you can’t own a gun, says the Bureau of Explosives, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in a letter to firearms dealers, via SeattlePI.com, left little doubt how it feels about selling guns to legal marijuana users.

“…any person 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 use of or addicted to a controlled substance and is prohibited by federal law from possessing firesams or ammunition,” wrote Arthur Herbert, the bureau’s assistant director for enforcement programs and services.

Basically, you can’t write on your federal farms that you use pot medically and then go buy a gun or ammunition. It’s not all on the consumer, however, as if a dealer knows that the person trying to purchase a gun from them uses medical marijuana, they can’t sell it to that buyer.

Federal law prohibits unlawful users of controlled substances from using or buying guns, so it makes sense, says Herbert, to do the same even when the marijuana is legal. It’s still a controlled substance.

You have to choose: Guns or pot, but not both [SeattlePI.com]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.