Federal Judge Rules Gun Ban for Weed Smokers Unconstitutional
A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled last week that a federal law that bans gun ownership by cannabis users is unconstitutional.
“For all the reasons given above, this is not a constitutionally permissible means of disarming Harrison,” Judge Wyrick ruled.
“But the mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulation supports,” said Judge Wyrick
Judge Wyrick also highlighted that under Oklahoma law, marijuana can be bought legally at more than 2,000 store fronts in the state.
A federal judge in Oklahoma City ruled last week that a federal law that prohibits cannabis users from owning firearms is unconstitutional and must not be enforced by prosecutors. Citing a ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last year that dramatically expanded gun rights, U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick dismissed a federal indictment charging an Oklahoma man with violating the ban, ruling that the prohibition denied the defendant of his right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Under current federal law, people who use cannabis are prohibited from owning or purchasing firearms because they are “an unlawful user of or addicted to” a controlled substance. The ban applies to all cannabis users, including those who use marijuana products that are legal under state law and the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms for all Americans.
In May 2022, Jared Michael Harrison was arrested by police in Lawton, Oklahoma after officers found marijuana and a loaded revolver in his car during a traffic stop. Harrison told police he was on his way to work at a legal medical marijuana business, although he did not have a state-issued identification card authorizing him to use cannabis medicinally. Federal prosecutors subsequently charged Harrison under the nationwide ban on gun ownership by marijuana users.
Harrison’s attorneys challenged the gun prohibition for cannabis users, arguing that the ban is not consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of regulating firearms. The challenge cited a ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court last year in a case known as New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that set new standards for interpreting the Second Amendment. Under that ruling, gun restrictions enacted by the government must be “consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Judge Cites Recent Supreme Court Ruling
Wyrick, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, agreed with Harrison’s attorneys and ruled on Friday that the ban is unconstitutional, writing that “the mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulation supports.” The judge rejected the argument of federal prosecutors that Harrison’s status as a marijuana user “justifies stripping him of his fundamental right to possess a firearm” and ruled that the federal ban on gun ownership “is not a constitutionally permissible means of disarming Harrison.”
Wyrick also noted that the use of cannabis is “not in and of itself a violent, forceful, or threatening act” and that Oklahoma is one of many states that permit the medicinal use of marijuana, despite the continued illegality of cannabis at the federal. Oklahoma voters legalized medical marijuana in 2018, and the state has more than 2,000 licensed dispensaries where patients can obtain medical cannabis.
Laura Deskin, a public defender representing Harrison, said the ruling was a “step in the right direction for a large number of Americans who deserve the right to bear arms and protect their homes just like any other American.”
Brian Vicente, a founding partner of the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP, said last week’s court decision in Oklahoma “is a significant expansion in the rights of cannabis consumers.”
“For decades, and across various states, medical cannabis patients have been asked to choose between participating in their state’s legal cannabis program or owning a firearm,” Vicente wrote in an email. “This federal court decision secures the rights of adults to both use cannabis and own guns and effectively removes the restriction, and associated stigma, that these adults face. This is part of a broader trend of conservative states embracing marijuana policy, with both Alabama and Mississippi establishing medical cannabis programs in 2022 and Oklahoma poised to legalize cannabis on March 7 of this year.”
Federal Court Strikes Down Gun Ban For People Who Use Marijuana, Calling Government’s Justification ‘Concerning’
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on Friday dismissed an indictment against a man who was charged in Oklahoma in 2022 after police discovered marijuana and a handgun in his vehicle during a traffic stop. In doing so, Judge Patrick Wyrick agreed with attorneys that the statute banning “unlawful” users of cannabis from possessing firearms violates the Second Amendment of the Constitution.
This decision comes as the ban continues to be challenged in a separate federal court in a lawsuit that was raised by former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) and several medical cannabis patients.
For this case, the Trump-appointed judge largely based his decision on an interpretation of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in which the justices generally created a higher standard for policies that seek to impose restrictions on gun rights.
The ruling states that any such restrictions must be consistent with the historical context of the Second Amendment’s original 1791 ratification.
The historical analogues that the Justice Department relied on to make the case that the ban is consistent—including references to antiquated case law preventing Catholics, loyalists, slaves and Indians from having guns—”misses the mark” and “cannot provide the basis for a historical analogue,” the judge said in Friday’s ruling.
It also addressed the government’s position that people who unlawfully use marijuana are “both unvirtuous and dangerous.” Wyrick said that “because the mere use of marijuana does not involve violent, forceful, or threatening conduct, a user of marijuana does not automatically fall within that group.”
The government has made similar arguments in the Florida-based case, where medical cannabis patients are actively appealing a ruling from a federal district court that dismissed their suit against DOJ in November.
Will Hall, an attorney working that case on behalf of the plaintiffs, told Marijuana Moment on Monday that they are “aware of” the new ruling and “plan to address it in our subsequent filings.” Fried also weighed in on the decision. Though she is no longer directly involved in the related suit, and her successor has declined to join it in her stead, she tweeted on Sunday that “when you are right, you are right.”
The Department of Justice will likely appeal Wyrick’s ruling to a higher federal court.
Advocates have argued that the fight to end the federal ban for cannabis consumers isn’t not about expanding gun rights, per se. Rather, it’s a matter of constitutionality and public safety.
Supporters of the Florida lawsuit have argued that the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau (ATF) requirement effectively creates an incentive for cannabis consumers to either lie on the form, buy a gun on the illicit market or simply forgo a constitutional right.
In 2020, ATF issued an advisory specifically targeting Michigan that requires gun sellers to conduct federal background checks on all unlicensed gun buyers because it said the state’s cannabis laws had enabled “habitual marijuana users” and other disqualified individuals to obtain firearms illegally. Meanwhile, a GOP congressman recently filed a bill that seeks to allow medical cannabis patients to purchase and possess firearms. The legislation was also introduced in the 116th Congress but was not ultimately enacted.
Learn More on 2nd Amendment Cases for Weed and other things you may care about:
Federal Judge Rules Gun Ban for Weed Smokers Unconstitutional Feb 2023
Another Court Strikes Cannabis Gun Control Law – United States v. Daniels Aug 2023
Fifth Circuit Strikes Down Domestic-Violence Prohibitor in United States v. Rahimi June 2023
Read the latest filings in the federal case on the gun ban for marijuana consumers below: