Despite the partisanship disparity between marijuana advocates and gun enthusiasts, both sides still want to conjoin forces if one ever wishes. However, due to a decades-old law, that still isn’t possible.
This has all come to the surface again because Minnesota has recently legalized marijuana in the state, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (the most badass bureau, by the way) released a statement reminding users that guns and weed do not coexist.
“Until marijuana is legalized federally, firearms owners and possessors should be mindful that it remains federally illegal to mix marijuana with firearms and ammunition,” says Jeff Reed in the statement, ATF’s special agent.
However, there’s some murky water here because Minnesota’s new law legalizing marijuana makes it so that sheriffs can’t deny someone a permit for a gun just because they are enrolled in a medical cannabis program, or use marijuana as an adult.
“It’s an interesting song and dance we’re going through with the federal government,” says Jason Tarasek, a cannabis attorney. “It would be great to get some clearer guidance from the federal government that would make people in legal markets more comfortable that they don’t need to be worried about the federal government knocking at their door.”
Perhaps in the future we’ll see Cannabis become the next letter in ATF. But until federal legalization occurs, we’re in this limbo. This wouldn’t be a problem if the federal government remained on the outskirts, not really enforcing this law but not going against it either. For them to make a statement about it is concerning.
Read the original article at CBS.
