A new YouGov poll conducted Friday found 55 percent of U.S. adults approve of the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling this month that gun bans for marijuana users violate the Second Amendment, while 26 percent disapprove. Support held across party lines: 58 percent of Republicans, 52 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of independents backed the decision.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which enforces the federal statute known as 922(g)(3) barring illegal drug users from possessing firearms, said on social media it is "reviewing the decision and assessing its impact" and that "additional guidance will be provided soon." The Supreme Court's majority opinion found the government's blanket ban conflicts with the Trump administration's move to reschedule cannabis, rejecting the argument that regular marijuana users are automatically dangerous.
ATF has already seen the ruling applied to other pending gun cases involving cannabis consumers. In May, the agency proposed a revised Form 4473 gun-purchase form recognizing medical marijuana's federally legal status, following Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's April order moving state-licensed and FDA-approved medical cannabis products to Schedule III. A hearing on broader marijuana rescheduling is set for this month. ATF separately proposed an interim rule, open for comment through June 30, narrowing who counts as an "unlawful user" of controlled substances under the gun law.
In the case, argued in March as U.S. v. Hemani, the Trump Justice Department compared marijuana users to the mentally ill and habitual drunkards to justify the ban, an analogy the court rejected. Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the justices illegal drug users "pose a greater danger" than alcohol drinkers and cited a "multi-sided and growing circuit conflict"; he noted Hemani, a dual American-Pakistani citizen, had alleged ties to Iranian entities that drew FBI attention.
In December, attorneys general from 19 states and Washington, D.C. filed a brief backing the government's position, though Colorado's governor said he disagreed. Smart Approaches to Marijuana and 21 other groups also urged upholding the ban, while the ACLU and NRA argued it unconstitutionally targets a population now largely legal under state and federal law.
Previously unpublished 2024 Justice Department guidance under President Biden urged prosecutorial discretion in such cases, later rescinded by the Trump DOJ, which now requires higher-level approval for prosecutions. Sauer told the court in April that rescheduling shouldn't affect the ruling, even as Blanche suggested the administration might stop defending the law.
