An ATF Industry Operations Investigator violated the Second Amendment rights of a central Florida man last month when he ordered a gun dealer to halt a pistol sale because he believed the purchaser possibly smelled of marijuana.
The Industry Operations Investigator, or IOI, who is based out of ATF’s Tampa Field Office, was conducting a routine audit of a Plant City-based gun dealer when Daniel walked in to pick up a 9mm Beretta APX he had ordered through Gun Broker, which had been shipped from a pawn shop in Alabama.
The Second Amendment Foundation agreed to withhold Daniel’s last name from this story. He had already completed an ATF form 4473, denying he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance,” passed a background check and was ready to take his new handgun home until the IOI intervened and ordered the gun dealer to stop the sale.
“I wasn’t high,” Daniel told the Second Amendment Foundation. “None of this makes any sense to me.”
There are many reasons why Daniel could have smelled like marijuana – if the IOI’s allegations are even true.
Florida legalized medical cannabis in 2016. As of last year, the state has issued more than 831,000 medical cannabis cards. There are hundreds of cannabis dispensaries located throughout the state. While federal law still criminalizes marijuana use or possession, even ATF’s Tampa spokesman Jason Medina admitted it was possible that Daniel could have been exposed to second-hand smoke, if his spouse, friends or family use cannabis medicinally.
“That’s true,” Medina admitted last week during a brief interview.
In addition, Amazon and hundreds of other retailers offer marijuana-scented candles, incense, sprays, air fresheners, colognes, perfumes and essential oils – any one of which could have caused a similar odor.
The IOI’s actions raise other questions, which Medina refused to address. Most notably, ATF IOIs are not real cops, or as Medina explained, are “not sworn.”
“They are not certified,” he said. “They are regulators.”
As a result, IOIs are not trained like real cops. Medina would not say whether the IOI who stopped the sale was ever trained to detect the smell of marijuana, or whether his observations were based upon his personal use. Neither would he say whether the IOI was trained to recognize the symptoms of someone who is under the influence of marijuana.
Medina would not address under what circumstances an IOI can halt a firearm transfer – a question he described during his brief interview as “a good one.” Neither would he disclose whether the IOI’s actions were within ATF’s policy and procedures.
“Someone will get back to you,” Medina promised Friday.
As of close of business Monday, neither Medina nor anyone else was willing to discuss the case, including the IOI’s boss, Aaron Gerber, the Director of Industry Operations for ATF’s Tampa Field Office. Gerber did not respond to calls, texts or emails seeking his comments for this story.
Takeaways
As for ATF’s disturbing pattern of ignoring media questions that they cannot control – keep in mind ATF director Steve Dettelbach just gave a 21-minute interview to CBS that contained nothing but softball questions – the agency needs to remember it is funded by tax dollars, so the public has a right to know about their employees’ conduct and misconduct.
Daniel denied he used marijuana on his 4473. That should have been good enough. He should have been taken him at his word. Instead, the IOI violated his constitutional rights based on a mere sniff. This is just the latest example of the ATF making up an excuse to deny a purchase and then hiding from any ensuing scrutiny or fallout.
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About Lee Williams
Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.
I smell something rank coming out of the Tampa Bay ATF field office. It is probably meth. Therefore I am stopping all entry to and from the ATF building until further notice. I will be back from vacation in a year and will give an updated response then. In the meantime noone is allowed in or out of the ATF building. If you ask me questions about the legality of this I will ignore you.
you can tell the ATF “inspector” is a democrat… he let Hunter Biden get a free pass.
Those inspectors have no authority to stop a sale, arrest, etc. Not sworn officers, just paper pushers. Gun store should have told them to eff off.
BATmen flexing muscles that they don’t have legally. c’mon courts, reign in the BATmen. it’s long overdue
#defundaft
And had the dealer gone ahead with the transfer, the AFT guy probably would have been back with his fine tooth comb a day later.
He’s a paperwork pusher, not a drug dog. Then again, with people identifying as <fill in the blank>, maybe he thought he was a dog.
The ATF needs sued for violating his constitution right without any evidence to legally purchase a firearm .
I’ll preface my comment by saying as a former FFL Dealer / Retail Firearms business owner/operator ( 27 yrs ) and having had countless interactions w/the ATF, I personally believe ATF Agents are the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel in the LE world and the sooner the ATF is defunded / disbanded, or at the very least, put on a short leash w/heavy Congressional oversight, the better it will be for all Freedom-loving U.S. Citizens. That said, my question is; had that prospective buyer been denied the sale by the FFL Dealer for the same reason, would the outcry be the same? I… Read more »
And now you can see why Marijuana will NEVER be legal at the Federal level. This is the only loophole they have to confiscate/deny guns if they even suspect there is weed involved. Get stopped for speeding? Officer smells pot in your car? You have a carry permit? Officer searches car, legally, and confiscates your weapon, legally. Then, if you give them trouble, they can get a warrant to search your home, and confiscate all of your guns, ammo, and any CASH they find. If the gov’t ever decriminalizes pot, they can no longer do this.
another good example of government agents overstepping the authority granted them, or in other words abusing their authority.
why wasn’t this agent’s name released if he was legally doing what he was allowed to do. their ego controls them, rationality/common sense doesn’t.
Government has absolutely zero constitutional authority to regulate the possession and/or use of any substance and they are specifically prohibited from regulating arms. The fact that a agency like the ATF even exists is repugnant to the Constitution.