Supreme Court rejects gun ban for casual drug use

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down restrictions on gun ownership for casual drug users.

In a unanimous ruling, the court concluded that the federal government cannot automatically bar people who use marijuana from owning firearms without proving they pose a genuine danger.

In a 9-0 decision, the justices upheld a lower court ruling that dismissed an illegal gun possession charge against Texas resident and American-Pakistani dual citizen Ali Hemani. 

Writing for the court, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the government failed to show that prosecuting Hemani under the 1968 Gun Control Act complied with the Second Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms.

Although the Trump administration defended the law, it later softened its stance during the case, acknowledging that not all marijuana users should automatically lose gun rights. 

Gorsuch noted that millions of Americans now regularly use marijuana, making it difficult for the government to argue that they are all inherently dangerous. 

The court stressed that prosecutors never alleged Hemani was addicted to drugs or that his marijuana use made him a threat to himself or others. As a result, the justices ruled the government had failed to justify applying the firearm ban in this case.

Broader impact on gun laws
The ruling could affect millions of Americans who legally own firearms while using marijuana, even though the drug remains illegal under federal law. The case also revisits a gun restriction that gained national attention after it was used to prosecute Hunter Biden in 2024. 

However, the Supreme Court stopped short of declaring the federal law unconstitutional or defining which drug users, if any, can still be prohibited from possessing firearms. 

Instead, it signaled that future prosecutions must provide evidence that an individual's drug use makes them dangerous before restricting their constitutional gun rights.