United States v. Hemani: Second Amendment and Substance Use

This episode is a Supreme Court syllabus and opinion from the case United States v. Hemani, which addresses the intersection of Second Amendment rights and federal drug laws. The Court ruled that 18 U. S. C. §922(g)(3), a statute disarming "unlawful users" of controlled substances, is unconstitutional when applied to individuals based solely on regular marijuana use. Justice Gorsuch’s majority opinion clarifies that the government failed to provide a historical analogue for such a broad ban, noting that ancestral "habitual drunkard" laws only targeted those who were mentally incapacitated or dangerous. While the decision is narrow and does not invalidate other firearm restrictions, it emphasizes that marijuana users cannot be categorically stripped of self-defense rights without individualized proof of risk. Separate concurrences by Justices Thomas, Jackson, and Alito further explore the limits of the Commerce Clause, the difficulties of the Court's history-based legal framework, and the widespread social acceptance of modern cannabis use.