Under federal law, millions of Americans are committing felonies right now because they own guns and use marijuana, even if they live in states that have legalized the drug. There is nothing unconstitutional about that baffling situation, a Trump administration lawyer assured the Supreme Court on Monday, because cannabis consumers are analogous to "habitual drunkards," who historically could be confined to workhouses or mental institutions.
Most of the justices, including both Republican and Democratic appointees, seemed skeptical of that claim. Their agreement reflected the trans-partisan alliances inspired by this case, which illustrates the potential for common ground between right-leaning critics of gun control and left-leaning critics of the war on drugs.
