Listen Up, Hippies

Here comes Captain Buzzkill to harsh your mellow. The state of Colorado claims it’s now legal to purchase, possess, and consume recreational marijuana. In short, you can spark up the bong and the fuzz can’t bust you. That’s the groovy part.

The heavy part, man, is that smoking the reefer is still a violation of federal law. In case you’re confused, that’s the bigger part of government. The one all the way over in Washington, DC. Put your finger on the map and move it to the right. Past Kentucky. A little further. There you go.

By their laws, you’re an unlawful user of a controlled substance. 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(3) prohibits you from owning a firearm [pdf].

Too many numbers and big words? I’ll break it down for you, bro: if you smoke weed, you don’t get to own a gun. Even if your state claims it’s legal to do so. When a state law conflicts with federal law, federal law takes precedence.

Right or wrong, there it is. It’s all well and good if you want to light up the lava lamp and start a Phish tribute band, but ditch the guns before you do so.