The United States Supreme Court on Thursday issued a unanimous ruling siding with a Texas-based marijuana user who wants to legally own a gun.
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The justices ruled in favour of Ali Danial Hemani, who argued that a law barring firearms ownership for anyone who uses drugs illegally is in violation of the Second Amendment. Hemani was not charged with any other crimes or accused of using the weapon while under the influence.
The decision marks a setback for US President Donald Trump’s Republican administration, which defended the 1968 law while opposing other gun restrictions.
The statute was also cited in the case against Hunter Biden, who was convicted in Wilmington, Delaware, of buying a gun while addicted to cocaine in 2018. He was later pardoned by his father, then-President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
The ruling comes amid a series of firearm cases before the Supreme Court since its landmark 2022 decision expanding gun rights, which triggered a wave of legal challenges across the country.
Since then, the court has upheld a law aimed at protecting victims of domestic violence and upheld strict regulations on ghost gun kits, while striking down a ban on bump stocks, an accessory that enables rapid fire. The justices have considered two firearm cases this term alone.
Cannabis laws have also evolved significantly in recent years, with more than half of US states now legalising marijuana in some form and its medical use becoming widespread.
However, recreational use remains illegal under federal law, even after the Trump administration reclassified medical marijuana in April as a less dangerous drug.
Standalone criminal charges involving firearm possession and drug use are relatively rare, and are more often filed alongside other offences.
The case drew unusual political alliances. The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association both supported Hemani, along with cannabis advocacy groups such as NORML. On the opposing side were gun safety organisations like Everytown, which typically disagree with the Trump administration on Second Amendment issues.
(With AP inputs)
