Colorado was one of the first states in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Sure, it’s still illegal at the federal level, but Denver now gets called the Mile High City for completely different reasons.
However, because it’s still illegal at the federal level, those who use it in compliance with state law are still prohibited from lawfully owning a firearm. This is a measure that’s being challenged, but until the Supreme Court rules on it one way or the other, there’s going to be some tension over this.
That’s especially true in Colorado, where a couple of high-ranking state officials don’t see eye-to-eye on the issue.
It’s an unusual and noteworthy disagreement between the Democratic governor and attorney general of our state on an issue about to come before the U.S. Supreme Court, with decent arguments on both sides and potential ramifications in the upcoming Democratic primary to select Colorado’s next governor. From the gun control group Colorado Ceasefire:
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has joined 18 other state AGs in fighting the repeal of a rule barring cannabis users (recreational and medicinal) from lawfully buying and owning firearms. The U.S. Supreme Court last year agreed to review the case after a lower court ruled that drug users shouldn’t automatically be banned from having guns.
The case is widely seen as another test of gun laws in the wake of the Bruen decision, a landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling that said firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation’s ‘historical tradition of gun regulation.’ The writ Weiser signed onto says that “Habitual drug use is associated with unique dangers when combined with firearms,” and that “the Second Amendment allows legislatures to confront shifting societal problems with new regulatory solutions.”
Whether or not one considers legal marijuana a ‘societal problem,’ the question of how much latitude states have in dictating who can and cannot possess firearms is a thorny one—and doesn’t always fall along predictable lines…
Gov. Jared Polis, who some have termed a libertarian, but kinda isn’t, disagrees with Weiser on this. A few days ago, Polis issued his own release on the subject, asking for federal intervention to clear the whole thing up.
Basically, Weiser sees marijuana as a drug that is safe enough to be sold on every street corner in Colorado, but too dangerous to allow someone to have the totality of their rights if they use it, while Polis has a level of consistency on the issue.
I have my issues with Polis, including his inane ability to dismiss his so-called libertarian principles in order to sign gun control legislation, but he’s the consistent one here. He sees marijuana use as safe enough for adults to engage in recreationally, and since it’s safe enough for that, it’s safe enough for those same adults to own firearms.
So what’s going to happen in Colorado?
Probably not much. I’d like to think that most folks there agree with Polis, but considering the assault weapon ban they passed recently, I’m not exactly holding my breath.
But Weiser is doing a fantastic job of pointing out the hypocrisy many on the left have when it comes to marijuana. They keep pretending it’s not just safe in many cases, but some kind of wonder drug the pharmaceutical industry has been trying to keep away from you because it’ll destroy their profits, while at the same time arguing that it’s just too dangerous for people to have the right to keep and bear arms if they use it.
The two cannot co-exist. Both can’t be true. It just can’t.
Polis, of all Colorado politicians, seems to be one of the few who get that.
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