Today the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling which upheld the dismissal of charges against a Texas man for possessing a firearm while a user of controlled substances. Previously under federal law, someone who uses controlled substances – yes even legal recreational marijuana – could not own or possess a firearm. To jog your memory, this was the law under which Hunter Biden was prosecuted for purchasing a gun at a time when he was smoking crack.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote in the majority’s opinion. But Gorsuch that the law could not be squared with the court’s strict standard that firearm restrictions must be rooted in the nation’s “tradition . . . [and] apart from pointing to habitual drunkard laws, the government has not even attempted to prove that any other specific historical principle might justify its prosecution in this case.”
While the current administration has declassified marijuana under federal law to make punishments for conspiracy and distribution less severe, it’s still not a good idea to commit federal crimes – be they for marijuana or firearms trafficking. And speaking of unwise things to do, handling a gun while you are impaired or intoxicated is just a bad idea and lead to a host of legal problems that will likely require you to hire a criminal defense attorney.
In more than 30 years as a practicing attorney, I have never seen anyone make a better decision while under the influence of alcohol or drugs and the reality is that accidents will happen in life. The risk of accidental discharges goes up tremendously as does the case of manslaughter charges when people handle weapons or drive impaired. So no matter the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling, it’s best to put the gun up before you light up.