with marijuana laws in Massachusetts. Yes, that’s correct. Federal laws require medical users to waive their rights. This issue not only applies to Massachusetts, but to all states that legalized marijuana. A declaration was issued in 2011 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), which whoever carries a medical cannabis card must surrender their right to bear arms. Based on the Gun Control Act of 1968, firearms retailers cannot sell firearms to anyone using marijuana because of its a controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Regardless if its legal under state laws, marijuana use, and possession is a federal offense. Indeed, marijuana users are stripped of their Second Amendment rights.

Background checks for gun purchases are mandatory in Massachusetts, which requires a declaration of the applicant's marijuana use.

It’s an issue all legal states have had to deal with and its nothing new for Massachusetts, which legalized medical cannabis in 2012. One cannot argue possession of a legal license to exempt them from the gun ban. Not the case: ATF has a bold-lettered reminder on the form, which warns, in essence: possession and use of marijuana is legal regardless of state laws.

Under Massachusetts regulations, registry records are only available to local law enforcement, yet even in the case of local police that power is extremely limited. Police, according to Massachusetts attorney Gregory Oberhauser, are only allowed to inquire about a patient’s status within the medical program.

The Second Amendment roadblock is another element that must be addressed before cannabis becomes accepted on a federal basis.