Supreme Court Limits Law Barring Drug Users From Owning Guns

The U.S. Supreme Court has limited a federal regulation that prohibited drug users from possessing firearms. The court ruled in favor of a Texas gun owner who faced charges after admitting to marijuana use. The owner challenged the law, citing the Second Amendment.

Justices found the government's application of the law overly broad. They distinguished between individuals who recreationally use drugs and those with addiction who pose a public safety risk. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch authored the majority opinion, with all justices agreeing on the outcome.

"We recognize that drugs and guns can sometimes make for a dangerous mix," Gorsuch wrote. However, the justices rejected the government's "expansive theory" in the case. They determined that the government's historical analogy to laws prohibiting chronic drunkards from owning guns "fails every test we have reason to consider."

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We recognize that drugs and guns can sometimes make for a dangerous mix.

This case was one of two significant gun rights cases before the Supreme Court this term. It offered the court an opportunity to clarify how it applies the standard set in a landmark 2022 Second Amendment decision. That ruling required courts to examine the constitutionality of gun restrictions based on the nation's "historical tradition" of firearm regulation.

The decision also drew attention because it involved the same statute used in the 2024 conviction of Hunter Biden, son of President Joseph R. Biden.

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fails every test we have reason to consider.