Appeals Court Rules Gun Ban on Cannabis Users Is Unconstitutional

A federal appeals court has ruled that the ban preventing cannabis consumers from possessing firearms is unconstitutional.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit cited a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that says any firearm restrictions must be consistent with the historical context of the Second Amendment’s original 1791 ratification. Judges said that the federal government’s attempts to establish a historical analogue to the marijuana gun ban fell short.

“Throughout American history, laws have regulated the combination of guns and intoxicating substances,” the appeals court said. “But at no point in the 18th or 19th century did the government disarm individuals who used drugs or alcohol at one time from possessing guns at another.”

“In short, our history and tradition may support some limits on an intoxicated person’s right to carry a weapon, but it does not justify disarming a sober citizen based exclusively on his past drug usage,” the opinion written by U.S. Circuit Judge Jerry Smith said. “Nor do more generalized traditions of disarming dangerous persons support this restriction on nonviolent drug users.”

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