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"In September 2016, a federal appeals court covering nine western states upheld a ban on firearms sales to residents who hold medical marijuana cards.
Though Colorado was not among those states, lawyers here say the move sends a signal that the federal judicial branch is not sympathetic to state laws when it comes to guns and pot.
The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by a Nevada woman with a medical marijuana card— she says she’s not a user— who was denied a gun by a gun dealer. The court decision is again fueling a debate about the intersection of state and federal law on weed and weapons."
“We’ve had this problem from day one,” says Tony Fabian, an attorney who has helped draft firearms legislation in Colorado.
“There’s nothing in Colorado law that says that it is unlawful to be in possession of a legal amount of marijuana and have a firearm,” Fabian told The Colorado Independent. “The problem is the dichotomy in federal and state law. And the feds are much more restrictive when it comes to firearms ownership.”
Colorado law is silent about whether someone of the appropriate age can carry a legal firearm and a legal amount of marijuana at the same time, says John Jackson, the chief of police for Greenwood Village and a former director of the state police chief’s association.
“If they’re 21 and they’ve got a joint, and a gun on their hip, there’s no issue there,” he said. (Colorado is also an open-carry state.)
The feds have a different take.
“Under federal law, a marijuana user cannot legally possess a firearm,” Lisa Meiman, a spokeswoman for the Denver division of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told The Independent. Not even in Colorado where marijuana is legal to have and use.
So, local Colorado police don’t mind, but a federal agent might. The problem is also compounded because the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama has directed federal agencies not to zealously enforce some federal laws in states that have legalized marijuana.
The difference between state and federal law has frustrated some firearms enthusiasts in Colorado since the state legalized the sale and possession of recreational marijuana with a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2013. The disconnect between laws and agencies grows wider when it comes to concealed-carry permits because county sheriffs’ ask applicants if they are marijuana users. A “yes” answer means no permit."