A U.S. federal appeals court has ruled that the long-standing ban preventing illicit drug users from owning firearms may not hold up when applied to people who legally use medical cannabis.
The decision came from a three-judge bench of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. The case, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture v. Attorney General of the US, was brought forward by several Florida medical marijuana patients who argued that the law unfairly restricts their Second Amendment rights, which guarantee the ability to keep and bear arms.
The court pointed to a 2022 Supreme Court ruling, which emphasized that any restrictions on firearms must align with the historical tradition of gun regulation.
According to the plaintiffs, preventing patients from possessing guns in states where medical cannabis has been legalized does not match that historical framework.
Medical cannabis became legal in Florida in 2016, though cannabis remains classified as an illegal drug at the federal level. Even so, the plaintiffs highlighted that the Justice Department cannot use federal funds to interfere with state-level medical cannabis programs. This protection, they argued, extends to individuals following state law.
The Justice Department countered that banning cannabis users from firearm ownership is consistent with past practices of disarming convicted criminals or people considered dangerous. A district court judge previously agreed with that position.
However, Judge Elizabeth Branch, writing for the appeals panel, noted that the individuals in the case had not been convicted of crimes but were instead engaged in conduct considered a federal misdemeanor. She also observed that the government had not demonstrated that the plaintiffs’ drug use made them dangerous enough to justify stripping them of their gun rights.
Judge Branch’s opinion was backed by Judges Robert Luck and Gerald Tjoflat. She also pointed out that the decision was in line with a similar ruling last year from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that a Texas gun owner who used cannabis could not be prosecuted under the federal ban.
Attorney William Hall, representing the Florida plaintiffs, welcomed the outcome, saying that the decision confirmed their stance that the Second Amendment cannot be used to strip medical cannabis patients of their rights. He added that the federal government cannot label all medical cannabis users as too dangerous to exercise their constitutional freedom.
The Justice Department has not yet commented on the ruling. The marijuana industry, together ancillary firms like Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (NYSE: IIPR), will be watching to see if the DOJ appeals this ruling given that several federal courts have been making differing decisions on this matter and a final position may soon have to be made by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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