How a 5-Year-Old Girl Gave CNN"s Sanjay Gupta New Perspective on Medical Pot

Facing a child treating her severe seizure disorder with medical marijuana, Gupta was forced to see the error of his ways.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is making waves for his recent reversal of opinion on medical marijuana. Part of this has to do with an expansive body of medical evidence but the touching story of a 5-year-old girl may have also played a meaningful role.

What if you were the parent of a small child suffering from a severe form of epilepsy that sent her into debilitating shocks hundreds of times each week, disrupting nearly every moment of the day, often leaving her in a catatonic state and crippling her development? You’ve tried every treatment available, seen countless specialists and nothing seems to work.

You’ve taken your child home from yet another emergency hospital visit, this time carrying with you the immeasurable weight of a “do not resuscitate” order from her doctor. Her treatment providers have exhausted every avenue they know of and have left you with very little hope.

Finally, at the height of your desperation you discover one last course of action but it is not one without controversy. You’ve learned about a plant containing chemicals that have proven beneficial to children like your daughter. However, the first complication is that the plant also has psychoactive properties and as much as you want to help your child, you don’t want to keep her in a constant state of intoxication.

You find there are strains of the plant with less of the intoxicant chemical and more of the one you believe has the medical benefits you need. However, there is a second very daunting complication: the plant is illegal and this fact creates significant consequences.

Few clinical researchers have had the ability to do thorough testing of the plant and objectively review its side effects due to politics and the fact that the federal government has banned it. Getting a reliable and safe supply will be an extraordinary challenge. And even if your local laws permit limited access to the plant and your child improves with it, you may never be able to travel with her across state lines without the risk of arrest and possibly having your little girl taken away from you by the authorities.

A young couple from Colorado, Paige and Matt Figi, faced this very harsh dilemma and their story is the subject of Dr. Gupta’s special “Weed,” airing this Sunday night. Their 5-year-old daughter, Charlotte, struggles with a severe form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome, and though they have endured extreme measures to treat her with medical marijuana, the results have been outstanding. Charlotte has gone from having hundreds of seizures a week to only one small episode each month with regular and carefully monitored use of the plant.

The Figi family’s breathtaking experience helped transform the views of Dr. Gupta, a respected neurosurgeon and once candidate for U.S. Surgeon General who had previously bought into the notion that the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. federal government have enforced a prohibition on marijuana based on sound scientific evidence. After poring over more of the data, meeting Charlotte Figi, and traveling around the world to interview experts for this special, Dr. Gupta dramatically revised his thinking and even issued a public apology for his previous dismissal of the medicinal benefits of marijuana.

Among the clinical experts interviewed for the special is Columbia University neuroscience professor and Drug Policy Alliance board member Dr. Carl Hart. Dr. Hart has been on a mission for over two decades to study the attributes of illegal drugs from a rational, scientific basis and intentionally avoiding the cloud of drug war propaganda. His new book High Price chronicles his personal and academic journey and the pitfalls of a research environment tainted by bias, knee jerk restrictions and political agendas limiting information that could prove vital to physicians, patients and families.

Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing the use and production of medical marijuana for qualifying patients. However, the medical use of marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and patients in the remaining states are without any legal access at all.  Even in states where medical marijuana laws exist, patients and providers are vulnerable to arrest and interference from federal law enforcement. 

In New Jersey there is a bill sitting on Governor Christie’s desk that, if he is willing to sign, would allow medical marijuana to be recommended for children like Charlotte. The legislation was created in response to the case of Vivian Wilson, a two-year old also suffering from Dravet Syndrome in New Jersey, whose family has struggled to get her access to medical marijuana.  Vivian suffers an average of 15 seizures a day and has had more than 20 hospitalizations due to her condition. 

There are many casualties of the drug war, not the least of which is access to sensible science-based research on the beneficial properties of marijuana. Hopefully, Sanjay Gupta’s thoughtful and moving examination of this issue will help further boost the growing tide of reason, compassion and innovative thinking on this issue.

This piece first appeared on the Drug Policy Alliance blog.

 

Related Stories

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• Illinois High School Will Now Not Only Randomly Test for Students for Drugs, But for Alcohol—Using Hair Samples


• VIDEO: Dr. Sanjay Gupta Publicly Renounces His Opposition to Marijuana, Apologizes for "Misleading" Public

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How a 5-Year-Old Girl Gave CNN"s Sanjay Gupta New Perspective on Medical Pot

Lowest Core PCE in History; "Flation" Perspective

Doug Short at Advisor Perspectives has a pair of interesting reports on price inflation as measured by the CPE and PCI.

Please consider PCE Price Index Update: Sorry Fed, The Disinflationary Trend Continues.

The latest Headline PCE price index year-over-year (YoY) rate of 0.74% is a decrease from last month’s adjusted 1.01%. The Core PCE index of 1.05% is decrease from the previous month’s adjusted 1.17%. It is the lowest Core PCE ever recorded; the previous all-time low was 1.06% in March 1963, fifty years ago.

The continuing disinflationary trend in core PCE (the blue line in the charts below) must be troubling to the Fed. After years of ZIRP and waves of QE, this closely watched indicator has been consistently moving in the wrong direction for over a year. It has contracted month-over-month for ten of the last 13 months since its interim high of 1.96% in March of 2012 and is now approaching half that YoY rate.

The first chart shows the monthly year-over-year change in the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index since 2000. I’ve also included an overlay of the Core PCE (less Food and Energy) price index, which is Fed’s preferred indicator for gauging inflation. I’ve highlighted 2 to 2.5 percent range. Two percent had generally been understood to be the Fed’s target for core inflation. However, the December 12 FOMC meeting raised the inflation ceiling to 2.5% for the next year or two while their accommodative measures (low FFR and quantitative easing) are in place.

click on chart for sharper image

For a long-term perspective, here are the same two metrics spanning five decades.

click on chart for sharper image

Inquiring minds may also wish to consider Two Measures of Inflation: Core PCE at Its All-Time Low

“Flation” Perspective

Inflation, deflation, and disinflation are all in the eyes of the beholder, and all depend on the definition. Still I expect another round of deflation possibly with prices but more importantly with credit, my preferred measure of “flation”.

Regardless of how one measures “flation”, the hyperinflationists missed the boat by a mile.

Mike “Mish” Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com

Mike “Mish” Shedlock is a registered investment advisor representative for SitkaPacific Capital Management. Sitka Pacific is an asset management firm whose goal is strong performance and low volatility, regardless of market direction. Visit http://www.sitkapacific.com/account_management.html to learn more about wealth management and capital preservation strategies of Sitka Pacific.

Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis

Lowest Core PCE in History; "Flation" Perspective

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage

No matter who you are or how well connected, there’s one unifying truth about the ammo shortage of 2013—it’s no respecter of persons.

That much was obvious at the recent NRA Show in Houston, where everyone from law enforcement officials to industry personnel—all the way down to your average man on the street—noted the incredible difficulty of procuring ammunition over the last few months. As Chad, an NRA member from Austin, Texas, said, you know times are rough when .22 ammo is missing from shelves.

“You can’t find .22 ammo anywhere,” Chad said. “I found a 525-round box at Academy [Sports & Outdoors] and thought I hit the lottery. That’s the first time I’ve seen it in probably six months.”

Like Chad, many NRA members have dealt with the ammo shortage by implementing a strategy of persistence—they simply keep checking back with their local sporting good outlet, gun shop or feed store, hoping to catch the latest shipment as it hits the shelves. For the people who claimed to have at least limited success finding ammo, this was undoubtedly the most common tactic.

Others, like Houston natives Ronald and Gale, said they’ve simply cut back on range time.

“It’s kept us off the range as much as we’d like to go,” Ronald said. “I’m afraid it’s going to put some of our good ranges—some mom and pop operations—out of business. Personally, this was coming for a long time. I’ve got enough to fend off a good attack, should I say. But like most good Boy Scouts, be prepared.”

As Ronald pointed out, there’s more than one way to deal with the shortage. You can either scavenge whatever is available when it’s available, you can stay away from the range or you can do both. The anecdotal evidence from NRA members at the show seems to point in this direction—gun owners are not only scraping together whatever ammo they can find, they’re also keeping more of it boxed up at home.

“Ammo is so hard to get, most of the people I know, when you do get it you don’t go to the range,” said Scott of Lufkin, Texas. “People that go to the range on a regular basis just aren’t going because you can’t afford to shoot the ammo and then not be able to replace it.”

Supply and Demand
The obvious question many people are asking is why the shortage happened in the first place. The answers aren’t always so obvious, but it starts with the political climate and the ongoing threat of anti-gun legislation. That threat—especially when it comes from the government—fuels an increase in demand for the buyer, who grabs and stashes as much ammo as he can.

Add an Associated Press report from Feb. 15 stating the Department of Homeland Security wants to buy up 1.6 billion rounds of ammo in the next few years—plus an ongoing discussion about it by the conspiracy theorists in the blogosphere—and you’ve got a veritable run on the market. Groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the NRA, meanwhile, have called a government attempt to stockpile ammunition a farce, attributing shortages to a simple increase in demand driven by anti-gun politics. Either way, demand skyrockets.

Manufacturers like Hornady, which gets questioned all the time about why it doesn’t just amp up production, said it’s just not that simple.

“We’ve been steadily growing our production for a long time, especially the last five years,” Hornady said on its website. “We’ve added presses, lathes, CNC equipment, people and space. Many popular items are produced 24 hours a day. Several hundred Hornady employees work overtime every week to produce as much as safely possible. If there is any question about that—please take a tour of the factory. You’ll be amazed at what you see.”

The Silver Lining
There is a silver lining in all of this, though. First, a good portion of the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013 was unceremoniously shot down on the Senate floor in the middle of April. With Feinstein’s incendiary measures out of the way, there’s at least some hope tensions will die down. With less for gun owners to fear, the expectation is for demand to settle down and production to play catch up. Many industry officials at the NRA show were at least optimistic about such a possibility, though nothing will likely change in the immediate future.

The ammo shortage has also caused a drastic increase in laser training sales, according to Aaron Moore, vice president and director of operations at LaserLyte.

“We’ve sold a whole lot more laser trainers,” Moore said. “We’ve been up about 700 percent in sales over last year.”

Adaptation may just be the key message for gun owners in America. It’s a different world than even a year ago, which means persistent shopping around and utilizing alternative methods of training are plausible options for many. It also means there’s never been a time to stand and defend your rights as an American and as a gun owner like the present. It’s a constant reminder of how quickly our precious freedoms can disappear if we don’t stand vigilant.

Guns & Ammo

G&A Perspective: How NRA Members Are Dealing with the Ammo Shortage