Supreme Court unanimously strikes down federal ban on gun ownership for marijuana users

The US Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a rare unanimous ruling in favour of a Texas marijuana user seeking to overturn a federal law that bars drug users from owning firearms, marking the latest expansion of gun rights under the Second Amendment.

In a decision hailed by legal observers as a significant curb on government overreach, the justices sided with Ali Danial Hemani, a casual cannabis consumer who challenged the 1968 statute used to prosecute figures such as Hunter Biden. The court’s ruling narrows the scope of a law long invoked to disqualify millions of Americans from gun ownership based solely on their drug use, without requiring proof of dangerousness.

The decision is a stinging rebuke to the Trump administration, which had vigorously defended the ban before the court. The White House had argued that the 1968 law was a reasonable public-safety measure, but the justices rejected that position in a single opinion that underscored the constitutional primacy of the Second Amendment. Legal analysts noted that the ruling signals a broader judicial scepticism toward laws that impose blanket restrictions on firearm possession without individualized assessments of risk.

Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the government had failed to demonstrate that every cannabis user posed a threat sufficient to justify disarming them. The ruling stops short of creating a blanket right for all drug users to purchase firearms, but it makes clear that the federal government cannot automatically disqualify an entire class of citizens based on lawful conduct.

The case drew parallels to the prosecution of Hunter Biden, whose own legal troubles under the same statute had drawn national attention. Legal experts said Thursday’s decision could have sweeping implications for pending prosecutions and future challenges to gun-ownership restrictions tied to non-violent offences.

Gun-rights advocates hailed the ruling as a victory for constitutional principle, while public-safety groups warned that it could complicate efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who pose genuine risks. The decision arrives amid a broader national debate over gun laws, with Congress currently deadlocked on bipartisan reforms.

The Supreme Court’s unanimity in the case underscores the judiciary’s growing consensus on Second Amendment protections, even as the political branches remain deeply divided. The ruling takes effect immediately, and legal scholars expect it to prompt a wave of new challenges to similar federal and state restrictions.