GUN SALES TO MEDICAL POT USERS A CATCH-22

CHICO -- There's a gigantic Catch-22 for medical marijuana users in
California seeking to purchase a firearm through a licensed dealer.

Gun sales - officially known as gun transfers - are controlled by
federal law, which doesn't recognize the use of marijuana under any
circumstances as a lawful activity.

And Proposition 215 cards cut no mustard with the feds.

Anyone in the market for a firearm must fill out a form that asks,
among many other things, if they are "an unlawful user of, or
addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug,
or any other controlled substance."

If a customer checks the "Yes" box at the end of that question, the
application process ends immediately, said Garret Sinclair, who
handles firearms transfers for the Tackle Box, a Chico sporting goods store.

He said, to the best of his knowledge, that law has been in place for
several years.

If the applicant checks the "No" box and is a marijuana user, they
may be subject to federal perjury charges, according to a letter the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reportedly sent
out to federally licensed gun dealers this week.

Arthur Herbert, the assistant director of enforcement programs and
services for the ATFE, said his office has received "a number of
inquiries" about whether medical marijuana patients can own or buy
guns and ammunition in medical-marijuana states.

"Federal law says marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug
similar to heroin, in spite of 16 states, including California,
having passed making the drug legal for medical use. The federal
government doesn't recognize marijuana as a medicine," Herbert stated
in the letter.

"Therefore, anyone who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless
of whether his or her state has passed legislation authorizing
marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or
addicted to a controlled substance and is prohibited by federal law
from possessing firearms or ammunition," he concluded.