Marijuana Users Still Barred From Buying Guns Even In States Where Pot Is Legal, ATF Warns

Users of marijuana remain barred from purchasing and possessing guns under a decades-old federal law, even as more and more states move to legalize recreational use of the drug, federal authorities warned this week.

Unless marijuana is legalized on a federal level, users of cannabis will continue to be prohibited from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms and ammunition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, said in a notice.

The ATF, which oversees federal gun regulations, issued the reminder Tuesday in response to a measure signed into law this week by Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz that legalized recreational marijuana use in the state.

Created in 1972, the ATF's responsibilities include stopping the unlawful use of guns and regulating the sale and transportation of firearms.

In its statement Tuesday, the ATF office in St. Paul, Minnesota, said gun possession, transportation and transactions would continue to be banned for those using or addicted to marijuana, "regardless of the recent changes in Minnesota law," because of the Gun Control Act of 1968.

That law barred individuals with certain criminal convictions, fugitives and those deemed to be an "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" from buying firearms. While many states have decriminalized and legalized cannabis use, marijuana remains an illicit "controlled substance" under federal law and regulations.

In forms administered by the ATF, prospective gun buyers must say whether they use marijuana.

"Until marijuana is legalized federally, firearms owners and possessors should be mindful that it remains federally illegal to mix marijuana with firearms and ammunition," said Jeff Reed, a top ATF official in St. Paul.

Over the past decades, states have increasingly sought to legalize the use of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes amid increased support among Americans for the drug to be decriminalized.

More than 20 states have legalized recreational use of marijuana, while 37 have authorized individuals to use the drug for medical purposes, according to congressional researchers. 

While he has stopped short of calling for a complete federal decriminalization of marijuana, President Biden has denounced the government's approach to the drug as "failed" and opposed jail sentences for cannabis possession. 

In October, Mr. Biden issued a mass pardon for individuals with federal convictions of simple possession of marijuana. He also instructed federal regulators to study whether marijuana should continue to be classified as a "schedule I" controlled substance, like heroin and LSD.