Supreme Court Rules 9-0 Against Trump Admin on Marijuana Users' Gun Rights
The Supreme Court on Thursday narrowed the government's ability to prosecute people who use marijuana for possessing firearms, siding unanimously with a Texas man in a decision that marks the latest expansion of Second Amendment protections.
The decision in U.S. v. Hemani is a setback for the Trump administration, which defended the restriction even as it has sought to roll back other gun limits. The same law was used in the high-profile case against Hunter Biden, who was convicted of illegally purchasing a firearm while addicted to drugs before being pardoned.
The ruling adds to a growing body of firearm decisions reshaping U.S. gun law. Since 2022, the court has struck down a federal ban on bump stocks while upholding other measures, including restrictions tied to domestic violence and ghost gun kits.
What is United States v. Hemani?
In a 9-0 ruling, the justices held that applying a longstanding federal law to Ali Danial Hemani-based solely on his admitted marijuana use-violated the Constitution. The law, part of the 1968 Gun Control Act, makes it a crime for anyone who is an "unlawful user" of a controlled substance to own a gun. But the court found that using it to prosecute a person who was not accused of being intoxicated or dangerous at the time went too far.
Writing for the court, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch said the government failed to show that disarming a regular marijuana user aligns with the nation's historical traditions of firearm regulation-the test the court adopted in a 2022 landmark ruling expanding gun rights. The opinion does not strike down the statute outright, but it raises the bar for future prosecutions, signaling that authorities may need to show a clearer link between drug use and dangerous behavior.
"We do not address efforts to ban addicts, or those presently intoxicated, from possessing a firearm," Gorsuch wrote. “Prosecutors could potentially still charge a marijuana user, if they had evidence the person was dangerous.”
The case reflects shifting attitudes toward cannabis. Marijuana is now legal in some form in a majority of states, though it remains illegal federally, creating tension in laws that treat all users as prohibited gun owners.
"Whatever one thinks of these developments, the federal government has not just tolerated them; it helped fuel them," Gorsuch continued. "All of which leaves it awkwardly positioned to suggest that the millions of Americans who now regularly use marijuana are categorically and unusually dangerous."
The dispute also produced unusual political alliances. Civil liberties groups like the ACLU joined gun-rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), in backing Hemani, while some gun-control organizations supported the federal government's position.
Who is Ali Hemani?
Ali Danial Hemani is a Texas man who became the central figure in the case after federal agents found a handgun and marijuana during a 2022 search of his home. He acknowledged using marijuana regularly, including "about every other day," but was not accused of being intoxicated while handling the firearm or of committing any other gun-related offense. Prosecutors charged him solely under the federal statute prohibiting gun possession by unlawful drug users, and he challenged that charge as violating his constitutional rights.
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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 10:33 AM.