At issue before the court was whether the gun restriction reflected America’s “historical tradition.”
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The Supreme Court on Thursday found that a Texas man could not be prosecuted under a federal law that prohibits regular users of controlled substances, such as marijuana, from possessing firearms.
In a unanimous decision, the justices found that the law was inconsistent with the Constitution’s right to bear arms.
“We appreciate that drugs and guns can sometimes make for a dangerous mix,” Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote in the majority’s opinion. But Gorsuch wrote that the law could not be squared with the court’s strict standard that firearm restrictions must be rooted in the nation’s “tradition.”
“And, apart from pointing to habitual drunkard laws, the government has not even attempted to prove that any other specific historical principle might justify its prosecution in this case,” Gorsuch wrote.
The case concerned Ali Hemani, a Texas man whose house was raided by federal officers in August 2022. They found a Glock 9mm handgun and 60 grams of marijuana. Hemani acknowledged he used marijuana “about every other day.”
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Prosecutors charged Hemani with being an “unlawful user” of a controlled substance under a section of the Gun Control Act of 1968. (In 2024, a jury found President Joe Biden’s son Hunter guilty of violating the same law.)
Lower courts dismissed Hemani’s case, saying the law violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The government appealed to the Supreme Court.
The issue before the court was whether the law met a strict Second Amendment standard that any gun restriction must be consistent with the “nation’s historical tradition.”
The case could affect a significant share of the population. In a 2024 government survey, more than 15 percent of Americans age 12 or older reported having used marijuana in the past month. More than 17 million people reported using the drug on a nearly daily basis, a study published in 2024 found.
As dozens of states have legalized cannabis in some form, the Trump administration has loosened restrictions on marijuana and reclassified it as a lower-risk drug. President Donald Trump has also ordered more access to psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin, the compound found in “magic mushrooms.”
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