Those who use marijuana legally in accordance with their state's laws cannot be sold or possess firearms, according to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) memo issued on September 21.
The memo to gun dealers in the United States, obtained by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), stated that it was illegal under federal law to sell firearms to anyone reasonably suspected of using a controlled substance.
The use of medical marijuana has been legalized in 16 states and the District of Columbia, but marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug under the federal Control Substances Act. Schedule I is the most restrictive classification, reserved drugs with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medicinal value.
"Therefore, any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use of medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition," the memo said.
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