Federal law, however, also prohibits gun sales to anyone who’s an “unlawful user of [2] or addicted to any controlled substance.” And although Loughner had failed the Army's drug screening process in 2008 when he admitted his drug use, this law didn’t keep him from obtaining a gun either, according to the Washington Post.
That's because a Clinton-era policy that instructed federal agencies not to report [3] certain drug users to the database, according to the Post. The policy was created by then-Attorney General Janet Reno out of concern that drug users would be deterred from seeking treatment if they knew a drug test could land them in the FBI’s database and prevent them from purchasing a gun. An FBI official told the Post that a drug test undergone to enter the military counts as a voluntary test and would not be reported.
Following the Virginia Tech shooting, Congress passed a law to strengthen both federal- and state-level reporting to the database. In many states, however, the law didn’t seem to make a difference—many still lag [1] in reporting to the database.
And here’s another thing that didn’t change with the 2007 law: Defense Department policy. From the Post:
That's because a Clinton-era policy that instructed federal agencies not to report [3] certain drug users to the database, according to the Post. The policy was created by then-Attorney General Janet Reno out of concern that drug users would be deterred from seeking treatment if they knew a drug test could land them in the FBI’s database and prevent them from purchasing a gun. An FBI official told the Post that a drug test undergone to enter the military counts as a voluntary test and would not be reported.
Following the Virginia Tech shooting, Congress passed a law to strengthen both federal- and state-level reporting to the database. In many states, however, the law didn’t seem to make a difference—many still lag [1] in reporting to the database.
And here’s another thing that didn’t change with the 2007 law: Defense Department policy. From the Post:
The Reno policy remained in place despite a 2007 law designed to improve the NICS. That law ordered all federal agencies to forward to the FBI the names of those ineligible under federal law to buy a gun from a licensed dealer. The law states that the names are to be sent at least quarterly, "notwithstanding any other law."GO HERE to read more.
Despite the NICS Improvement Amendments Act, the Defense Department apparently did not change its policy. Drug test information is still not forwarded to the FBI to protect the privacy of the applicants, said Col. Thomas Collins, an Army spokesman.
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