For over a decade, Rob Greene was the senior law enforcement official in his Pennsylvania county, prosecuting drug offenses while privately using marijuana himself.
Greene is among roughly 440,000 people in Pennsylvania who have received authorization to use medical cannabis.
Greene left the district attorney’s office this year. He says using cannabis every now and then has greatly improved his well-being. But the former prosecutor says federal firearms restrictions have forced him to give up his guns.
Greene argues that the federal prohibition is unconstitutional as it treats medical cannabis users as prohibited firearm owners even when they are not impaired.
Federal law has barred people who unlawfully use or are dependent on controlled substances from possessing firearms for decades. Cannabis remains illegal federally, despite legalization or medical approval in numerous states.
On June 18, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Hemani that prosecuting Hemani solely on the basis of his marijuana use violated the Second Amendment.
Greene believes certain substances may pose enough danger to justify restricting gun ownership, but he does not put cannabis in that category.
The issue affects millions of Americans. About 6 million people are registered medical cannabis patients in 40 states, meaning their state-issued authorization does not override federal firearms rules.
Federal data show that drug-related issues have prevented large numbers of prospective buyers from completing firearm purchases. The FBI has also reported hundreds of thousands of background-check alerts involving drug convictions.
Law enforcement officials generally support keeping the restriction in place, citing concerns about the combination of firearms and intoxicating substances.
Rick Lorah, Erie’s Police Chief, said officers encounter significant overlap between firearms and the illegal drug trade. He estimated that roughly 70 percent of about 700 guns recovered in crimes in Erie since 2023 were likely connected to drugs.
Lorah said he recognizes the medical uses of cannabis and does not view cannabis as the most serious threat. Still, he believes any change to the federal rules should come from Congress rather than the courts.
The DOJ prosecutes about 300 cases per year in which violating the firearm restriction for substance users is a primary allegation. Hunter Biden’s prosecution became one of the best-known examples after he was accused of lying on a federal firearm purchase form about his drug use.
Hemani’s case presents a different question. Prosecutors say he acknowledged using cannabis regularly while keeping a Glock pistol at home. A lower federal court dismissed the charges, finding the prohibition unconstitutional as there was no allegation that Hemani was impaired while possessing the weapon.
Attorney Joseph Bondy, chairman of NORML, says the government should have to demonstrate a person’s actual dangerousness before taking away a constitutional right.
The case has produced an unusual coalition. The Trump administration, gun-safety advocates and anti-drug groups urged the Supreme Court to preserve the existing prohibition. They argued that restrictions on armed drug users are consistent with historical limits on weapons possession and public safety concerns surrounding intoxication.
Greene accepts that some drug users may need to be disarmed, but maintains that cannabis should not automatically trigger a lifetime loss of gun rights.
The Supreme Court’s ruling limits the government’s ability to disarm marijuana users solely because they use the drug. However, the decision does not resolve every restriction involving drug use and firearms, including cases involving addiction, current intoxication or individualized evidence of dangerousness.
Marijuana companies like TerrAscend Corp. (TSX: TSND) (OTCQX: TSNDF) will be watching how lower courts apply the decision and what it means for cannabis consumers’ gun rights.
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