The Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday that federal law cannot strip gun rights from citizens solely because they use marijuana, striking down a longstanding prohibition that barred licensed firearms dealers from selling to marijuana users even in states where the drug is legal.
The 9-0 decision represents a rare bipartisan consensus on gun rights. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that marijuana use alone does not establish the kind of historical basis for firearm restrictions that the Second Amendment permits. The Court rejected the government's argument that drug use categorically justifies removing constitutional protections.
The case centered on a federal regulation prohibiting licensed firearms dealers from selling weapons to anyone who uses controlled substances, including marijuana. This rule remained in effect even after numerous states legalized cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. A marijuana user challenged the blanket prohibition as unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
The justices found that historical gun regulations targeted specific dangerous behaviors or criminal conduct, not the status of using a legal substance under state law. Roberts emphasized that the government must connect any firearms restriction to longstanding historical traditions of regulating guns, a standard the Court established in its 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
The ruling creates tension between federal and state marijuana laws. Approximately 24 states have legalized marijuana in some form, yet federal law still classifies it as a Schedule I controlled substance. This decision prevents the federal government from using that classification to justify an automatic Second Amendment deprivation.
Gun rights advocates applauded the decision as protection for constitutional rights. Legal experts noted the ruling applies narrowly to marijuana use per se, leaving open whether regulators could still prohibit firearm sales to individuals with cannabis-related criminal convictions or impairment-based restrictions similar to those for alcohol.
The decision lands as Congress remains deadlocked on broader gun control legislation, with Democrats seeking expanded restrictions and Republicans defending