The Supreme Court has dealt a significant blow to a long-standing federal law prohibiting marijuana users from owning firearms, ruling that a Texas man’s regular cannabis consumption does not justify criminal charges for gun possession. The decision, issued on June 18, marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing clash between gun rights and drug policy in America.
At the heart of the case is Ali Hemani, a dual U.S.-Pakistani citizen who was under FBI surveillance for alleged ties to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, designated a global terrorist group by the U.S. government. During a 2022 search of his Texas home, Hemani admitted to owning a Glock 9mm pistol and using marijuana “about every other day.” Prosecutors charged him under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which makes it a felony for anyone who is “an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” to possess a firearm, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The Justice Department defended the restriction, even as the Trump administration pushes to expand gun rights and reclassify marijuana to a less dangerous category. Cannabis is legal in some form in most states. The government argued the ban is constitutional because it lifts as soon as someone stops using drugs. But the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, citing the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that gun laws must align with “this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” The appeals court found that while history supports limits on carrying weapons while intoxicated, it does not justify disarming a sober person based on past drug use.
The Supreme Court’s decision strengthens the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, particularly those who use marijuana legally under state laws. Erin Murphy, Hemani’s attorney, argued during March oral arguments that the modern law is too broad, capturing “the type of thing that people regularly, all throughout the country, lawfully use a few days a week.” She noted that most states and the president have decided marijuana is not “so categorically addictive or dangerous that no one can use it safely.”
The ruling has drawn support from gun rights groups, cannabis legalization advocates, and the American Civil Liberties Union, who say the law is often used for selective prosecutions. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers argues it serves as leverage in plea bargains or “as a means of incarcerating otherwise law-abiding citizens when the government’s primary theory falls short.” In Hemani’s case, the government couldn’t make more serious charges stick, so the gun-and-drug law provided an easy fallback.
Gun safety groups, which have opposed the Trump administration in other Second Amendment cases, backed the Justice Department. The government prosecutes over 300 people each year under this provision, which it says “plays an integral role” in keeping firearms from dangerous individuals. The Gun Control Act of 1968 was passed after the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
Notably, Hunter Biden was convicted in 2024 for violating the same law by purchasing a gun while addicted to drugs, though he was later pardoned by his father, President Joe Biden, in his final weeks in office. The Supreme Court’s decision now casts doubt on such prosecutions, reshaping the legal landscape for millions of Americans who both use marijuana and own guns.
