According to federal survey data, something like 25 million Americans have unlawfully used controlled substances in the last month, and around 42 million have done so in the last year. Allowing for underreporting, the true numbers are probably substantially larger. The vast majority of these people are cannabis consumers, who are still treated as criminals under federal law even if they live in one of the 23 states that have legalized marijuana for medcal or recreational use. This group of legally disarmed citizens also includes anyone who occasionally uses a painkiller, sleeping pill, or stimulant prescribed for a friend or relative, along with everyone who now and then enjoys cocaine, MDMA, or other illegal intoxicants.
This criterion for exclusion makes as little sense as the arbitrary drug prohibitions on which it is based. Maybe less. Raging alcoholics are legally allowed to own guns, but for some reason weekened pot smokers are not. Such distinctions have no obvious connection to public safety. Likewise the blanket disqualifications for people convicted of felonies, whether or not they were violent or involved weapons, and for people who have entered or remained in the United States without permission. The fact that a tiny percentage of people in these categories will commit mass murder hardly validates depriving them all of the basic human right to armed self-defense.
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