In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit No. 18-1343 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. BLAIR COOK, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. No. 3:17-cr-00048-001 — James D. Peterson, Chief Judge. ARGUED SEPTEMBER 13, 2018 — DECIDED JANUARY 28, 2019 Before FLAUM, MANION, and ROVNER, Circuit Judges. ROVNER, Circuit Judge. A jury convicted Blair Cook of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance (marijuana) in possession of a firearm. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3). Cook appeals his conviction, contending that the statute underlying his conviction is facially vague, that it improperly limits his Second Amendment right to possess a firearm, and that the 2 No. 18-1343 district court did not properly instruct the jury as to who constitutes an unlawful user of a controlled substance. We affirm Cook’s conviction. I. On May 25, 2017, officers of the Madison, Wisconsin police department conducted a traffic stop of the car that Cook was driving. When officers approached the car and spoke with Cook, they noticed a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the car. Apart from the possibility that Cook was driving under the influence of marijuana, Cook was also driving on a suspended license and without a license plate on the front of his vehicle, so the officers decided to detain him and ordered him to step out of the vehicle. Officer Matthew Wentzel removed a loaded, .40-caliber Glock Model 23 pistol from a holster under Cook’s shoulder. The gun had an extended 22- round capacity magazine with 19 bullets remaining. Cook was transported to the police station for further questioning. During a recorded interview at the station, Cook acknowl- edged to Wentzel that he had used marijuana almost daily for nearly ten years (since the age of 14), that he did so because marijuana calmed him down, and that he had smoked two “blunts” earlier that day.1 On prodding from the police, Cook ultimately produced a small packet from his groin area containing a half ounce of marijuana. Cook had purchased the firearm from Max Creek Outdoors in Oregon, Wisconsin on April 2, 2017. At the time of the 1 “Blunt” is a street term for a cigar from which the tobacco has been removed and replaced with marijuana. No. 18-1343 3 purchase, he was required to complete a Firearms Transaction Record Form 4473 promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”). On that form, Cook answered “No” to the question, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?” Directly under that question the reader of the form was admonished, “Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medical or recreational pur- poses in the state where you reside.” A grand jury subsequently charged Cook with two of- fenses: possession of a firearm and ammunition by an ...
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