SUPREME COURT HOLDS BANNING POSSESSION OF FIREARMS BY MARIJUANA USERS VIOLATES THE SECOND AMENDMENT

June 18, 2026 – This morning, the United States Supreme Court released another landmark Second Amendment decision in United States v. Hemani. The Supreme Court  ruled that the federal government cannot prohibit occasional marijuana users from owning firearms.

The case arose from the arrest of Ali Hemani in 2022, when federal agents found a semiautomatic pistol and 60 grams of marijuana while searching his home. Hemani told the agents that he uses marijuana “about every other day,” according to court filings, though authorities did not accuse him of being ​intoxicated at the time of the search. Based on his marijuana use and firearm ownership, the government prosecuted and convicted Hemani of violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which prohibits firearm possession by “unlawful users of controlled substances.”

Hemani challenged the law as unconstitutional, contending that it violated his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The law prevents “unlawful users of controlled substances” from owning firearms, but his lawyers argued that “the statute does not define ‘unlawful user.’” To enforce the law against Hemani, they argued, “would empower the government to deprive tens of millions of Americans who pose little if any risk of firearm misuse of a fundamental constitutional right.” Although recreational use remains illegal at the federal level, more than half of U.S. states have legalized marijuana and it has gained widespread use for health purposes.

In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court held that prosecuting Hemani for “knowingly possessing a gun in his home while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance — is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.” The ruling authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch does not invalidate the law across the board, but it makes it harder for prosecutors to enforce it. Gorsuch wrote that the ruling is a “narrow one,” noting it does not address broader issues such as efforts to ban addicts or those presently intoxicated from possessing a firearm; banning users of a particular drug who pose a special risk of misusing firearms; or whether the government could bring a prosecution under §922(g)(3) with proof that the defendant’s drug use renders him a danger to himself or others.

Renzulli Law Firm will continue to monitor the Second Amendment challenges, related litigation, and potential impacts.  If you have any questions about laws regulating firearms and ammunition, please contact Christopher Renzulli.