mrnhtbr2232
15th October 2010, 08:43 PM
With less than three weeks to go until election day polls are indicating that California Proposition 19, the initiative to legalize marijuana, is on track for passage. While medical and recreational users alike await the vote, there is a sinister undercurrent to the law that many have overlooked. If California legalizes the personal use, cultivation, and purchase of pot, there remains the problem of Federal law. As many people know, Federal law considers marijuana a controlled substance and lists it on Schedule I under (ACSCN) 7360 as a psychedelic. The criteria for this level of classification remains in contention, but essentially courts have upheld the government's position that marijuana is of the same danger and criminal classification as narcotics.
<b>Edited for correction 10/16/10</b>
Even if it is legal at the state level to use marijuana, all one has to do is admit truthfully on ATF Form 4473, Question 11e that they have used it as grounds for denial. Worse, if the applicant says 'no' when in fact they have used it, they have falsified the answer under Federal law. At this point, the applicant has violated the Federal Gun Control Act, 18 USC 921. This is punishable by up to ten years in Federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Where this duality of State law vs. Federal law when prosecuted in the Federal court system will come down is predictable. Further, by honestly admitting to using marijuana to the Federal government when attempting the purchase of a firearm, otherwise legally under every account, the buyer has provided all of their identification, address, and personal information as a prelude for search and arrest. If you have any marijuana on your property, along with any firearm, gun owners face a five year sentence in Federal prison if convicted.
So despite the potential for legal challenges under the 10th Amendment, the burden of innocence remains with the defendant. Should the Federal government prevail in its argument that national drug policy laws trump state's rights, the passage of Proposition 19 may well open the floodgates for the seizure of firearms and imprisonment of owners. In fact, the Federal government, once affirmed by the courts, will have a new tool for disarming the public. With an estimated three million gun owners in California, the potential abuse of Federal authority thanks to the passage of Proposition 19 will open a new chapter in the denial of the public's Second Amendment rights as a by-product of legalizing marijuana.
<b>Edited for correction 10/16/10</b>
Even if it is legal at the state level to use marijuana, all one has to do is admit truthfully on ATF Form 4473, Question 11e that they have used it as grounds for denial. Worse, if the applicant says 'no' when in fact they have used it, they have falsified the answer under Federal law. At this point, the applicant has violated the Federal Gun Control Act, 18 USC 921. This is punishable by up to ten years in Federal prison and a $250,000 fine. Where this duality of State law vs. Federal law when prosecuted in the Federal court system will come down is predictable. Further, by honestly admitting to using marijuana to the Federal government when attempting the purchase of a firearm, otherwise legally under every account, the buyer has provided all of their identification, address, and personal information as a prelude for search and arrest. If you have any marijuana on your property, along with any firearm, gun owners face a five year sentence in Federal prison if convicted.
So despite the potential for legal challenges under the 10th Amendment, the burden of innocence remains with the defendant. Should the Federal government prevail in its argument that national drug policy laws trump state's rights, the passage of Proposition 19 may well open the floodgates for the seizure of firearms and imprisonment of owners. In fact, the Federal government, once affirmed by the courts, will have a new tool for disarming the public. With an estimated three million gun owners in California, the potential abuse of Federal authority thanks to the passage of Proposition 19 will open a new chapter in the denial of the public's Second Amendment rights as a by-product of legalizing marijuana.