Overview
- The Court heard arguments in United States v. Hemani, which challenges the 1968 law barring firearm possession by anyone who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.
- Justices pressed the government's reliance on founding-era 'habitual drunkard' laws, exploring hypotheticals involving marijuana, sleep aids, cough syrup, psychedelics and other substances.
- The case arose after a 2022 search of Ali Hemani’s Texas home, where agents found a Glock and marijuana, and Hemani acknowledged regular marijuana use.
- A federal district judge dismissed the charge under a present-intoxication reading of the statute, and the Fifth Circuit affirmed, sending the dispute to the Supreme Court.
- A ruling is expected this summer, and observers note the case has drawn an unusual alliance of drug-policy reformers and some conservative and libertarian gun-rights advocates.