The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away

If you try to be a good little citizen and comply with what the Law requires, you could find yourself royally screwed (pun intended unintentionally):

Honolulu residents who legally complied with requirements that they enter themselves in both registries have received threatening letters signed by officials including Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard. These letters read, in part:

“Your medical marijuana use disqualifies you from ownership of firearms and ammunition. If you currently own or have any firearms, you have 30 days upon receipt of this letter to voluntarily surrender your firearms, permit and ammunition to the Honolulu Police Department or otherwise transfer ownership.”

Federal law restricts the possession of firearms by anybody who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance,” and marijuana remains a controlled substance according to the folks in D.C. That’s enough of an excuse for Honolulu police officials to try to disarm locals who’ve done their best to abide by state gun and marijuana laws.

But it’s not just a Hawaii problem. As Jacob Sullum previously noted, “Last year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which includes Hawaii, upheld the ATF’s policy of banning gun sales to people who are known to have medical marijuana cards, even if they do not currently consume cannabis.” So putting your name on a medical marijuana registry anywhere has the potential to make it more difficult to legally buy a firearm.

It gets worse, although the conclusion is optimistic:

When officials set out to penalize people who try to abide by the rules, breaking the law may well be the safer choice.

It’s taken years of hard work for a coalition of Republicans and Democrats to create such a scenario in what was once a free country.

So what else is new?

(I only ask such a question because in theory I ought to be blogging about such things…)


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3 responses to “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away”

  1. Bernie Avatar
    Bernie

    I am totally with you on this.
    In general, too much government. When politicians talk about public servant they are projecting – they mean you and me – the public and a servant.

  2. Bram Avatar
    Bram

    I foresee many unfortunate boating accidents while using their medical marijuana.

  3. Kathy Kinsley Avatar
    Kathy Kinsley

    @Bernie – I agree, and I like your phrasing: “the public and a servant”.