Marijuana and Federal Law

The Supreme Court heard arguments in Ali Danial Hemani’s challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), after Hemani — who admitted using marijuana several times a week — had his indictment tossed by the 5th Circuit under the Court’s Bruen test and the Justice Department asked the justices to revive the prosecution by pointing to founding‑era “habitual drunkard” laws and other historical analogues. Justices across ideological lines expressed skepticism about whether historical precedents justify a categorical ban on marijuana users, with hypotheticals about occasional gummy use and even founding‑era figures raised by the bench, while an unusual coalition from the ACLU to the NRA filed briefs backing Hemani and warning the statute’s sweep could reach many (it has also been invoked in recent prosecutions such as Hunter Biden’s).