President Joe Biden was forced to address a law that could punish cannabis users who buy firearms when it was pointed out that his son Hunter Biden had admitted to breaking that law in his memoir.
Currently, the law requires anyone purchasing a firearm to fill out a federal form that asks if they’re using illegal drugs. The form specifically mentions cannabis. Lying on a federal form is illegal and cannabis users can face prison time if they choose to do so.
The law has become a talking point since a lawsuit was filed by Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried and medical cannabis patients against the Department of Justice (DOJ). The department filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing previous times that the federal government has deemed it unsafe to allow certain groups to own a firearm. A judge heard oral arguments on the motion last week.
During an interview with CNN, President Biden was asked about the law and how it could affect his son.
“This thing about a gun—I didn’t know anything about it. But turns out that when he made application to purchase a gun, what happened was he—I guess you get asked—I don’t guess, you get asked a question, are you on drugs, or do use drugs?’ He said no. And he wrote about saying no in his book,” Biden said.
Study Blames Prohibition For Contaminants
According to a new study, a lack of national regulatory guidelines for cannabis is putting the public at risk of using contaminated products—even in states where a regulatory body oversees production.
The study was published last month in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. Researchers found that states that have legalized cannabis have varying regulations and requirements concerning cannabis contaminants and their legal limits. The researchers said there was greater variations in cannabis contaminant regulation than in other agricultural commodities.
The scientists also used data from a California testing site of state-legal medical and recreational cannabis available at dispensaries. Overall, over 5 percent of the samples failed contaminant testing.
“This study demonstrates an urgent need for a unified regulatory approach to mitigate the public health risk of cannabis contamination at a national level,” wrote the study’s authors. They call for regulations that are comparable with other agricultural commodities.
Biden Says He Plans to Keep Pot Promise
Biden has once again promised to decriminalize cannabis as he rallies support for Democrats at the midterms.
During a speech last week, Biden said, “I’m keeping my promise. I don’t want you in jail merely for using or possessing marijuana. You should not be in jail.”
He told young voters to turn out at the midterms to “exercise your power to vote again for the future of our nation and the future of your generation.”