Supreme Court Tackles Marijuana Use & Gun Rights
The Supreme Court agreed to hear United States v. Hemani - a case that could determine whether marijuana users can legally possess firearms.
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More than 90 petitions were submitted to the Supreme Court for consideration, with the justices only agreeing to hear three – one of which will settle the debate on marijuana use and gun possession.
In a six-page orders list, the Supreme Court said it would hear United States v. Hemani – the only gun-related issue to be argued in front of justices this term.
The case aims to get to the bottom of whether federal statute 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) violates the Second Amendment. The statute currently prohibits the possession of firearms by a person who 'is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.’
The Fifth Circuit dismissed a grand jury charge in January against Ali Danial Hemani, a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Pakistan. Hermani was found in possession of a 9mm handgun alongside small amounts of marijuana and cocaine during a search of his home. He was not under the influence of any drugs at the time of the search. That said, he confessed to law enforcement that he was a daily marijuana user. The FBI had been monitoring Hermani for suspected terrorist ties.
Hermani’s attorneys argued that the federal statute in question is constitutionally vague and does not hold up under the 2022 Bruen decision. The Fifth Circuit Court agreed and dismissed the charge.
That wasn’t the end, though, as the Department of Justice appealed the dismissal.
Attorneys for the DOJ argued that colonial-era laws against “common drunkards” armed with weapons, as well as more than 100 years of restrictions on firearms possession by drug addicts, meet the Bruen requirement for “history and tradition.”
The Supreme Court is notoriously selective on what it hears each term, but Second Amendment cases have been on the rise in recent years. Before 2022’s Bruen, the High Court averaged years between 2A cases. (Lewis v. U.S. in 1980, D.C. v. Heller in 2008, McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010, and Caetano v. Massachusetts in 2016.)
But since Bruen, justices have heard four Second Amendment-related cases.
- In Garland v. Cargill (2024), the court found that a bump stock does not convert guns into machine guns under federal gun laws.
- United States v. Rahimi (2024) found that a person can be temporarily disarmed if a court deems that the individual poses a credible threat to the physical safety of another person.
- In Bondi v. Vanderstok (2025,) the court said that the ATF has the authority under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to regulate unfinished frames and parts kits.
- In 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos that Mexico failed to prove that seven American gun makers routed guns to Mexican drug cartels through unlawful sales.
The intersection of drugs and firearms makes United States v. Hemani a particularly interesting case.
We will continue to monitor the case as the Supreme Court hears it and provide updates as they are available.
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