SCOTUS Takes Aim at Federal Law Disarming Legal Pot Users

The case centers on 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), the federal statute that makes it a felony for any "unlawful user" of a controlled substance to possess a firearm. That means millions of Americans in legal-marijuana states like Arizona are technically federal criminals the moment they touch a gun.

Let that sink in. Arizona voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2020. The state says it's legal. But the federal government still classifies every cannabis user as a prohibited person under federal gun law — the same category as convicted felons.

The ATF has enforced this aggressively. Every gun buyer must answer Question 21(e) on Form 4473, asking whether they are an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Answer yes, you can't buy the gun. Lie, and you've committed a federal felony. The system is a trap by design.

The Supreme Court's post-Bruen framework — which requires gun laws to be rooted in the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation — is the right tool to gut this statute. There is no Founding-era precedent for disarming someone because they used a legal intoxicant. The Founders drank rum. They didn't lose their muskets.

Lower courts have already started cracking. The Tenth Circuit ruled the ban unconstitutional as applied to a marijuana user in 2023. Other circuits went the other way. SCOTUS needs to resolve the split — and gun owners have every reason to expect a ruling in their favor.

Acting AG Todd Blanche and the Justice Department must now defend a law that punishes law-abiding citizens in legal-marijuana states for exercising two constitutional rights at once. Under Bruen, that position is indefensible.

Arizona alone has hundreds of thousands of registered medical marijuana patients and millions more recreational users. Every one of them lives in a federal legal gray zone that could cost them their guns and their freedom.

If SCOTUS rules correctly, this unconstitutional statute dies — and millions of Americans get their full constitutional rights restored. If you're an Arizona gun owner, this is the case you've been waiting for. Contact your representatives now and demand they file amicus support for the challengers.