Federal Appeals Court Once Again Rejects Blanket Gun Ban for Cannabis Consumers

https://norml.org/blog/2024/08/29/federal-appeals-court-once-again-rejects-blanket-gun-ban-for-cannabis-consumers/

by jdmark • 2 years ago

25 6 2 years ago

Good. What's important is whether you are impaired, not whether you ever consume impairing substances.

If marijuana users aren't ever allowed guns why in the world do we permit alcohol users guns? I'd be much more worried about a drunk with a gun than a stoned person with a gun.

starttoaster• 2 years ago

As someone who has partaken in smokes and drinks, and owns firearms, I'd not trust either person equally around a firearm during the period of their impairment, personally. But I agree that smoking a j on Friday afternoon doesn't mean I'm going to mishandle my firearms on Saturday. Just like having a couple of beers on Friday doesn't mean I'm going to mishandle my firearms on Saturday.

analog312• 2 years ago

Granted, I'm not calling for a ban, but I'm more worried about someone with depression having a gun. My rationale is simply that there are a lot of depressed people, and the impairment lasts longer, thus the risk exposure is higher.

init2null• 2 years ago

29% of people report having been diagnosed with depression in their lifetimes [1]. Major depression seems to be more like 8.3% [2], but once you start restricting someone's freedoms based on their state of minds, the treatment itself becomes stigmatized.

If I'm ever asked in an attempt to limit my rights, I'll say that I never have and I'll be convincing. The only proper way to implement this kind of policy is by using police reports based on credible threats towards others.

Self-harm isn't something that needs more policing; let's stick to better treatment there.

[1] https://news.gallup.com/poll/505745/depression-rates-reach-n...

[2] https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/major-depression

cbanek• 2 years ago

I wonder how this interacts with, or not, getting charged with a crime and possessing cannabis and a gun at the same time. It seems like they all really trump up the other charges federally, even when the crime doesn't involve either.

Federal Appeals Court Once Again Rejects Blanket Gun Ban for Cannabis Consumers

Related Stories