Bottom line is this... period, end of story, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

When you fill out a 4473 (instand background check paperwork) you must answer truthfully 11 questions YES or NO.

Question"E" reads..........
"Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana, or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, or any other crontrolled substance?"

YES you are an unlawful user of marijuana. No question about it, you nowhave a police record to prove it.At least until you are found not guilty. You must answer yes to this question.

If the proper answer tothis questions is yes (and question "E" is a yes) and you answer "NO" then you commit a felony and can be imprisoned for up to 10 years and be fined up to $250,000.

Do what you want, it's your life, but under the law you can not purchase a firearm legally right now.

see that makes sense, to a degree, but why would others tell me different...? people who are suppose to know.

i see what you mean, but If i say "no" im not an unlawful user, how is that lieing? if at the time i am not an unlawful user. what makes me a lawful user after the year is up? also, its only a misdeminour, so even if they didnt put me on STET, and i got a straight conviction for simple possession, how does that disqualify me? im not saying your wrong, by any means, im just lookin at all possbiilities. if everyone i asked agreed and said no i couldnt buy one, then i would give it up. but since some have said yes and some have said no, im stuck with continuially looking for the truth.

Because you have a current police record. Do you not understand this? This isn't 10 or 20 years ago it is NOW.

Soem states Medicinal use is legal. Maryland probably isn't one of these states and any use is probably unlawful. So if you continue to smoke it then you are an unlawful user.

but how can they tell i am a user? im not saying ur wrong bigbull, i just dont know why i have been told that it doesnt matter by police + gunshop owners. if i have a record that shows i got a citation in march, and i answer "no i am not a drug user" in august, and im truly not smoking then, then how am i lieing? even if it were to say "have u been convicted of a drug charge" then I could still say no because i wasnt convicted, i was on STET. And, to exhaust the situation, if i was convicted, right, then how long would i have to wait to purchase a handgun? that one misdeminour marijuana charge would stop me for ever from buying a handgun? i dont know. again, u are probably right, im just voicing my opinion

The guys above are 100% right. I've told you the same thing in the MD forum. You do have to answer the question on the ATF form 4473 and if you are caught lying on the form it's a felony. It's that simple. You seem determined to go ahead and try to purchase the firearm and are looking for anyone to agree with you. You mentioned that MD licensing said you wouldn't be denied because of a STET, but you didn't ask them if you'd be denied as a user. They answered the question you asked them. Get yourself cleaned up, get some help, get the legal situation taken care of and then after all of that, maybe then you should worry about getting the handgun. Argue it as much as you'd like, but what the guys said above is 100% right.

Ok, well maybe you guys can cite where Question E has been used on a situation like this fella is in. I bet there's not a case in the country where an occasional dopehead has convicted and put in jail over question E. Sure, a habitual user maybe, and still question E is a waste of ink. I bet over half or more handgun owners have used pot. i know I did for years. I still bought handguns.

I realize you guys are sticklers about this, as bigbulls probably runs a shop or something. And I understand that, but common sense will go far here.

He asked if he can legally purchase a firearm. Asread the situation the answer is no.

I'm tired of saying the same thing over and over. Ask the BATF.

http://www.atf.treas.gov/contact/index.htm

I guess common sense just can't prevail on internet forums.

Sure it can but we aren't talking about common sense. We are talking about gunlaws. And as we all know there is little common sense in any of the current gun laws.

Ihave to agree with Bigbulls on this to a point. Once you are cleared and have a not-guilty judgement, you should be in the clear. Until then, I wouldn't try to purchase a gun.

Exactly. The Federal agency involved is the same that made ruling that possessing a certain spring is the same thing as possessing a machine gun. [:'(]