Could Using Cannabis Affect Your Ability To Buy A Gun In Buffalo?

This is a question that many people in Western New York want to know since the adult use of recreational marijuana became legal, will using it affect your ability to legally buy a firearm. This is a very good question in my opinion.

Credit: WGRZ

The United States Attorney for Western District of New York James P. Kennedy Jr., and Attorney Anthony Kuhn, breaks it down for us. For those that may not know, in order to purchase a firearm, you have to complete an ATF form that asks the question, are you an unlawful user or addicted to marijuana or any other controlled substance. If you answer "yes" to that question then the firearms dealer may not transfer firearms or ammunition to them.

For the purposes of ownership of a firearm, the issue is using marijuana, if you admit to being a marijuana user, you are considered a prohibited person by the federal government, and they will not allow you to obtain or possess a firearm, it would be  federally illegal for the government, so what they've done is, they've deferred to the state to say, for now, we're going to allow you to legalize marijuana.

said, Attorney Anthony Kuhn,

If you are a marijuana user and you lie on the application by answering "no" to the question, you will be committing a federal crime in violation of the US Code, and if prosecuted, could lead to a maximum of 10 years in prison. So if you are a user of marijuana you cannot legally own a firearm.