The Supreme Court of the United States on Thursday limited the application of a decades-old federal law that bars certain drug users from possessing firearms, rejecting a position taken by the administration of US President Donald Trump that could have affected millions of marijuana users who legally own guns.
In a unanimous 9-0 ruling, the court upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss an illegal firearm possession charge against Ali Hemani, a Texas resident who had told authorities he was a regular marijuana user.
Writing for the court, conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch said the government had failed to demonstrate that prosecuting Hemani under the law was consistent with the Second Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms.