01/04/2022
Time for a reminder about ma*****na and fi****ms.
Dear MSSA Friends,
An MSSA member recently called me to inquire about medical ma*****na cards in Montana and fi****ms. After my answer, he suggested I distribute the information I'd provided to folks on the MSSA list.
I generally recommend that gun owners avoid having a medical ma*****na card, because that triggers an effective loss of the card holder's RKBA. Here's why.
Ma*****na is a "controlled substance" under federal law. Any person who uses a controlled substance illegally (virtually all ma*****na use is illegal under federal law) becomes a "prohibited person" under federal law. A Montana medical ma*****na card is NOT an exemption from this federal prohibition. It is a federal crime for a prohibited person to possess fi****ms, forever.
So, if a person in Montana obtains a medical ma*****na card, the feds will take that as proof that the card-holder is a prohibited person. If that person possesses any firearm(s), ever, that person is subject to prosecution for a federal felony crime. Bottom line: If a person obtains a Montana medical ma*****na card, the person must give up possession of fi****ms forever, or the person is exposed to a possible federal felony prosecution.
Further, you know that pesky Form 4473 that a person must complete upon purchase of a firearm from a federally licensed dealer? Remember the line that asks if the person is a user of illegal drugs? If the person with a medical ma*****na card answers that honestly (Yes), the Brady check will fail to pass and the person will not be able to purchase. If the medical ma*****na card-holder answers that the person is NOT a user of illegal drugs, then the medical ma*****na card-holder may be prosecuted by the feds for perjury, another felony crime.
So, my recommendation is that unless you desperately need medical ma*****na, AND you are also willing to dispossess yourself of fi****ms and lose your RKBA forever, you should avoid applying for or having a medical ma*****na card.
If there is any good news about this, it is that the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, which issues medical ma*****na cards, does not share its list of card holders with the feds, because of the right to privacy in the Montana Constitution. However, there are still a dozen other ways for your possession of a medical ma*****na card to come to the attention of the feds, triggering your prohibited person status and thereby exposing you to attention and a federal prosecution if you possess even one firearm.
Actually, it's worse than that. If a person has multiple fi****ms, as most of us in Montana do, federal mandatory minimum sentences may come into play. The federal mandatory minimum sentence for possessing a firearm during a "drug trafficking crime"* is five years, for the first firearm (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)). For every additional firearm this prohibited person possesses, the federal mandatory minimum is 25 years. Yes! So, suppose you are substandard in Montana and have only 11 fi****ms. You have a medical ma*****na card and get busted by the feds. You could be facing a total federal MINIMUM sentence of 255 years in federal prison (five years for the first gun and 25 years each for the next 10 guns). If so, you'll gladly accept a plea bargain whereby you admit to being some kind of drug kingpin and agree to 10 years in federal custody (or any deal the prosecutors offer) to get off the hook for 255 years. This has happened, here in Montana.
Sorry to be the bearer of this news, and no, it doesn't make much sense, but that's the way it is.
*A “drug trafficking crime” is defined as any felony that is punishable under the Controlled Substances Act, codified at 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq., or the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, codified at 21 U.S.C. 951, et seq., or Chapter 705 of title 46 of the United States Code. 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2)–(3).
https://famm.org/our-work/u-s-congress/gun-mandatory-minimum-sentences/
Best wishes,
--
Gary Marbut, President
Montana Shooting Sports Association
http://www.mtssa.org
Author, Gun Laws of Montana
http://www.mtpublish.com
