The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has proposed revising Form 4473—the required form for all gun purchases from federally licensed dealers—to reflect medical marijuana's changed federal status under the Trump administration's rescheduling, as part of broader steps to reduce burdens on firearms buyers and businesses.
The existing form warns that "the use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside." Under the revised form, buyers would instead attest: "I am not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance. (Warning: You can be an unlawful user under federal law, even if your possession is legal under state law. Federal law does not permit the use or possession of marijuana for recreational purposes.)"
The new language prohibits only recreational marijuana, dropping any reference to medical cannabis. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche ordered last month that state-licensed medical cannabis products and FDA-approved marijuana products be moved to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act, with a broader rescheduling hearing set for this summer. The Congressional Research Service found the order "appears to authorize end users to possess marijuana for medical use without a CSA-compliant prescription."
Kostas Moros, director of legal research and education for the Second Amendment Foundation, said the group is "happy to see that the ATF's new draft form 4473 already takes into account its recently announced rescheduling of cannabis, and thus the form no longer includes medical marijuana use or possession as disqualifying." Moros said ATF "may soon be forced to revise the form even further following what we hope will be a favorable ruling" in U.S. vs. Hemani, a pending Supreme Court case on whether 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3)—which bars marijuana users from owning guns—is constitutional.
The Trump administration argued in March that the law is constitutional, and Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices last month that rescheduling should not affect the outcome. Blanche has separately said the administration is reconsidering its defense of 922(g)(3) on a case-by-case basis.
ATF is accepting public comments on the revised Form 4473 through July 7. A separate ATF interim final rule, open for comment through June 30, would narrow the definition of "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance" so fewer people are barred from gun purchases for drug use.
