The Justice Department is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the constitutionality of a federal law preventing marijuana users from legally owning or possessing guns—insisting that, even if cannabis is rescheduled under an executive order issued by President Donald Trump, its use makes people uniquely dangerous and deserving of disarmament.
In a reply brief in the pending case, U.S. vs. Hemani, DOJ reiterated its prior arguments defending the federal statute Section 922(g)(3), maintaining that there are sufficient historical analogues consistent with the nation’s founding that justify barring cannabis consumers from having firearms. To that end, Trump-appointed U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer said justices should reverse an appeals court ruling that found the ban violates the Second Amendment.
“For decades—including when respondent violated Section 922(g)(3)—marijuana has been a Schedule I drug based on determinations that, inter alia, ‘marijuana had a high potential for abuse’ and lacks ‘accepted safety,’” Sauer said.
“The federal government is currently taking steps to reschedule marijuana under Schedule III to facilitate medical marijuana and CBD research ‘while preserving the Congress’s intent to restrict the sale of products that pose serious health risks,’” he acknowledged, while adding that the rulemaking process “is not yet complete.”
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