As speculation abounds over a potential marijuana rescheduling decision by the Trump administration, the Justice Department is telling the U.S. Supreme Court that it should reverse a lower court ruling that deemed a federal ban on gun ownership by cannabis consumers to be unconstitutional—in part because people who use illegal drugs “pose a greater danger” than those who drink alcohol.
In a brief submitted to justices on Friday, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer maintained the administration’s position that a federal statute restricting marijuana consumers’ gun rights, 922(g)(3), is consistent with the Constitution and does not infringe upon Second Amendment rights.
“Indeed, unlawful drug users pose a greater danger than users of alcohol, which was lawful at the founding and remained so for most of American history,” the brief says. “Congress and the Executive have determined that marijuana and other Schedule I drugs ‘ha[ve] a high potential for abuse’ and ‘a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision’ that justifies their criminal prohibition, unlike alcohol.”
Given Supreme Court precedent that weakened states’ rights to impose firearms restrictions that are antithetical to the founders’ intent when the Constitution was ratified, DOJ said historical
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