Judging from federal survey data, nearly a quarter of Americans 18 or older used marijuana in 2024, while 16 percent reported using it during the previous month. Those numbers suggest that somewhere between 43 million and 62 million Americans are disqualified from gun ownership because of their cannabis consumption, even if they live in one of the 40 states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. Marijuana users who nevertheless try to exercise the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms are committing up to four federal felonies.
In United States v. Hemani, a case the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on March 2, the Trump administration is asking the justices to uphold that policy, which it says is perfectly reasonable and constitutional. Not so, the Liberty Justice Center (LJC) says in a new brief urging the Court to reject the notion that cannabis consumers pose a danger that justifies disarming them simply because they use a federally prohibited drug. The LJC argues that "treating all cannabis users—nearly one-fifth of the adult population—as presumptively dangerous criminals is incompatible with historical tradition, modern societal norms, and this Court's own framework for Second Amendment analysis."
