Getting high on marijuana and getting drunk on alcohol: I have experience with both. I haven’t smoked pot or consumed edibles in 20 years and I haven’t been drunk in 15 years. My opinion of whether people who smoke pot should be allowed to own guns is based on my own use of alcohol and pot and on a collection of available research on alcohol vs. marijuana.
I was a good drunk - I rarely got aggressive and I never committed any acts of violence - but I have been in the company of countless individuals who did become extremely violent and aggressive during their consumption of alcohol.
My personal experience smoking pot and observing those around me smoking pot never led to even the slightest degree of violence or aggression.
My conclusion:
Drinking alcohol can lead to violent or aggressive behavior.
Smoking pot does not lead to violent or aggressive behavior.
In an AI search of alcohol vs marijuana - “Alcohol is highly correlated with aggressive behavior, domestic violence, and sexual assault.” There is no equivalent behavior for those who smoke pot.
On Healthline.com - “While being intoxicated with cannabis feels different than being intoxicated with alcohol, the two have roughly the same effect on your cognitive abilities, reflexes, and judgement.” The website also states that marijuana appears to have “fewer long-term risks than alcohol, but again, there’s a huge discrepancy in the amount of research on cannabis compared to alcohol.”
From my own first-hand experience and first-hand observations with smoking pot - I disagree with the assertion on Healthline.com that being high on marijuana and being drunk lead to the lack of judgment. I think it’s obvious that being drunk has a completely different effect on judgment when it comes to violence and aggression. But, no doubt, being high on pot might affect your judgment on what and how much to eat or how fast something is actually traveling, but has no real impact on being violent or aggressive.
So, knowing what I know from being drunk and being around people who are drunk compared to people who are stoned - I think the people who are stoned would be much safer with a gun.
There is no legal question about whether people who drink should have guns even though drinking can lead to violent or aggressive behavior. People who drink - even alcoholics - are legally allowed to own guns. But there is a question now about whether people who smoke marijuana should own guns.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued an opinion that did not support a law banning individuals who smoke pot from owning guns. I agree with the High Court’s decision.
Whether drunk or stoned - every gun owner has the responsibility to be safe with their firearms. Since I believe that a drunk American is more dangerous with a gun than a stoned American - I believe that it’s fair to allow those who get stoned to own guns, too.
A stoned person who owns a gun might be more interested in figuring out how to smoke pot from the chambers or the barrel of the gun than how to use it violently.
