BATF; Guns and Marijuana Don’t Mix In Montana

On September 21^st, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent an open letter to all federal firearms licensees, in which anyone holding a medical marijuana card issued by the State of Montana can be denied the purchase of firearms and ammunition. I spoke with the Research Director of the Independence Institute in Golden, Colorado, David Kopel about the constitutionality of this policy. That interview is attached.

In a related comment, Gary Marbut, President of the Montana Shooting Sports Association wrote ‘We believe this sort of federal usurpation is prohibited by the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.  It is also egregious that people may be sentenced to years in a federal prison only because they possessed a firearm while using a state-approved medicine.  This is a matter, however hotly contested, that should be left to the discretion of the Montana Legislature, not a bureau of the executive branch of the federal government.’