All nine justices of the US Supreme Court on April 30 ruled in favor of Ali Danial Hemani, a cannabis user residing in Texas. Hemani had argued that a federal law prohibiting illegal drug users from owning guns violates the Second Amendment of the US Constitution.
The ruling narrows but does not fully eliminate the government's ability to restrict gun access for drug users. Hemani's lawyer, Niz Ahmad, stated that the unanimous decision would protect millions of Americans from severe penalties simply for using cannabis and owning firearms.
The case forged an unusual political alliance between pro-gun groups and civil rights organizations. Both sides backed Hemani's argument that he should not be denied a constitutional right due to drug use.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a human rights watchdog that helped represent Hemani, had argued that the law granted federal prosecutors excessive power and risked arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement.
The ruling upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss illegal gun possession charges against Hemani, a dual US-Pakistani citizen who admitted to authorities that he uses cannabis.
Meanwhile, the administration of President Donald Trump supported the 1968 law restricting gun ownership for drug users. Administration lawyers compared the law to 19th-century regulations allowing the government to temporarily disarm those deemed chronic alcoholics.
Justice Neil Gorsuch noted in his opinion that the US has adopted a more permissive attitude toward cannabis in recent years, with many states legalizing its use. He wrote: “Whatever one thinks of these developments, the federal government has not only tolerated them but encouraged them. All of which places the government in an awkward position when it argues that the millions of Americans who regularly use cannabis are uniquely dangerous.”
However, Gorsuch noted that the government could still prosecute a drug addict under the law following the ruling. He wrote: “We do not address efforts to prohibit addicts or intoxicated persons from possessing guns.”
The law at the center of the ruling was previously used in a case against Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden. Hunter Biden was convicted of buying a gun while addicted to cocaine in 2018, but was later pardoned by his father at the end of his term.
