The Supreme Court has ruled that the government can’t automatically take away someone’s right to own a gun just because they use cannabis, with advocates for cannabis reform calling this a big win.
On Thursday, the justices unanimously ruled in United States v. Hemani that federal prosecutors crossed the line when they went after Ali Danial Hemani, a U.S.-Pakistan dual citizen from Dallas area, simply for having a gun while being a regular cannabis user.
This decision puts real limits on a federal law that blocks illegal drug users from having guns. And with cannabis use on the rise, this ruling could matter for millions across the country.
At the center of the case was the question of whether the federal government could determine that any cannabis user is automatically too risky to own a firearm.
The Supreme Court said no. Unless the government can point to stronger evidence from history or the Constitution, it can’t make that claim.
Back in 2022, federal agents searched Hemani’s parents’ house in Texas. They found a gun, some cannabis, and cocaine. Hemani admitted he uses cannabis every other day. Prosecutors didn’t call him an addict or say he was high or dangerous when handling guns. They just charged him because he used cannabis and owned a gun.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the court, said the government didn’t meet the test laid out in the 2022 New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision, which demands that any new gun rules match up with what’s been common in U.S. history.
The Justice Department tried to argue that banning guns from cannabis users was just like old laws that kept guns away from “habitual drunkards.” But Gorsuch said those laws were about people whose drinking made them truly unable to manage their lives.
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