3 men, 3 bad habits and a lot of guns. Gangster Disciple, two others admit this federal crime.

If you're a drug user or drug addict and have a firearm, woe be unto you if you have an encounter with police.

Federal law makes it illegal for anyone who uses an unlawful drug or is a drug addict to have a firearm. Thorough details are laid out in procedures for police and federal drug and firearm agents.

The prosecution of the three Coast men, who apparently don't know each other, involves circumstances that may not apply in most situations. But the law remains the same.

When you apply for a firearm, this is one of the questions the application asks: "Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?" The Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms application notes that the use or possession of marijuana is still illegal under federal law, regardless of whether it's approved for medical or recreational purposes in certain states.

The three Coast men pleaded guilty Monday to the crime of using marijuana and having firearms. Two of them confessed they've used marijuana since they were children, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and ATF Special Agent in Charge Dana Nichols.

They are Gulfport residents Jaquan Deshawn Carter, 21, and Javon Jamil Byrd, 23, and Moss Point resident Tevin Ladarius Mitchell, 20.

Gulfport police had arrested Carter, a member of the Gangster Disciple street gang, in a traffic stop on Sept. 6, 2015. Police had received a complaint of someone in a car "flashing a gun." Police said they stopped the vehicle and smelled marijuana. They also reported finding bullets and a .44-caliber revolver in the backseat. Carter said he'd bought the gun for protection, a prosecutor said.

Carter had another detrimental police encounter when he was a passenger in a vehicle on Sept. 14, 2015. Police reported they smelled burned marijuana and said Carter had a .22-caliber handgun with an obliterated serial number in his pocket.

In an interview, Carter said he's been smoking marijuana every day since he was 9 years old, the news release said.

Byrd, who admitted he's smoked marijuana since he was 11, sold a confidential informant an SKS 7.62 x 39mm rifle for $600 on June 13, 2015, the news release said. An SKS is a semi-automatic assault style weapon. Biloxi police went to the scene of a complaint about a weapon being fired and found Byrd and several others in a car. They also smelled burned marijuana and found pot and cocaine.

Police also found a Ruger .380 and a stolen Sig Sauer 9mm handgun. Byrd has admitted he bought the Sig Sauer for $125.

Pascagoula police found Mitchell in the front passenger seat of a car in a traffic stop on March 31. The car was stopped for having a window-tint violation, court papers show. Police saw a rifle in the back floorboard and brought in a K-9. Police found two ski masks, and three weapons — two of them loaded — and several magazines.

Mitchell admitted a Windham rifle was his, and told investigators he has smoked marijuana three or four times a day for a couple of years, a court document said.

The three men pleaded guilty Monday before U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden.

They each face maximum penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervision.

Ozerden will sentence Byrd and Carter on Oct. 11. Mitchell's sentencing is set for Oct. 12.

In February, Ozerden sentenced a former D'Iberville car salesman and repo man to house arrest under the same law. The men told the court they had the guns for protection. One of them lied on his gun application about not being a marijuana user. They had no criminal backgrounds. Ozerden fined both of them $5,000 and gave them house arrest and probation.

Ozerden sentenced them the day before Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama-era policy that allowed the legalization of marijuana to flourish in some states. Sessions will now let federal prosecutors where pot is legal decide on how aggressively to enforce federal marijuana laws.

This story was originally published July 3, 2018 at 2:29 PM.