Supreme Court Restricts Federal Effort to Block Gun Ownership by Marijuana Users

June 19, 2026
By Mintesinot Nigussie

The US Supreme Court has ruled that federal authorities cannot automatically prohibit marijuana users from owning firearms, limiting the government’s ability to apply a decades-old gun restriction without evidence of a specific threat.

The unanimous decision came in the case of Ali Danial Hemani, a Texas resident who was charged after federal agents found a handgun during a 2022 search of his home. Hemani had disclosed that he regularly used marijuana.

The court found that applying the federal firearm ban to Hemani violated the Second Amendment because the government failed to demonstrate that his drug use made him dangerous or that he posed a risk to others.

The law at the centre of the case makes it a criminal offence for anyone considered an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance to possess a firearm. Those convicted can face up to 15 years in prison and a lifetime ban on owning guns.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who authored the ruling, said the decision was narrow and did not eliminate the federal restriction altogether. However, he said the government could not justify treating all marijuana users as automatically dangerous.

The ruling creates a more difficult path for prosecutors seeking to use the law against people who use marijuana casually, particularly as the substance is permitted for medical or recreational use in many US states while remaining illegal under federal law.

Gorsuch noted that the court recognised the potential risks associated with combining drugs and firearms but rejected the government’s argument that historical restrictions on habitual alcohol users could directly justify the broader ban.

The decision also affects the interpretation of a law that has been used in other high-profile cases, including the 2024 conviction of Hunter Biden, the son of former President Joe Biden, before he later received a presidential pardon.

The court’s ruling leaves unresolved wider questions over when drug use may justify restrictions on firearm ownership, including cases involving addiction or other circumstances involving public safety concerns.

Source: FSX Business News