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Old March 22, 2013, 10:57 AM   #1
ScottRiqui
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 27, 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 2,905
"Prohibited person" for drug use - how does that work?

Looking at the ATFs list of "prohibited persons", every category except one is very cut-and dried; you can point to a prior conviction, a current restraining order, a current indictment, etcetera as clear evidence of the person's classification as a "prohibited person":

Quote:
Under indictment or information in any court for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;

who is a fugitive from justice;

who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;

who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution;

who is an illegal alien;

who has been discharged from the military under dishonorable conditions;

who has renounced his or her United States citizenship;

who is subject to a court order restraining the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of the intimate partner; or

who has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (enacted by the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-208, effective September 30, 1996). 18 USC 922(g) and (n).
But nestled in there is this one:

"who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;"

How do you prove that one? Note that they don't mention anything about a past conviction, or having participated in a rehab program, or anything like that. Nothing concrete that you can point to and say "this is a prohibited person".

And if someone *has* been convicted of illegal drug use, are they considered a "user" for the rest of their lives? How about someone who successfully completes rehab? Surely they're not still considered to be "addicted"? How do you legally prove addiction, anyway?

To me, the only circumstance where you could clearly call someone a prohibited person under that rule is if they're actually unlawfully consuming a controlled substance while they have a gun in their hand - the rule seems too 'fuzzy' to be useful in any other case.
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