Supreme Court Delay Looms as Trump’s Solicitor General Weighs Challenge to Gun Ban for Marijuana Users

Supreme Court Decision on Gun Rights for Marijuana Users Delayed Amid Growing Legal Challenges

The battle over whether marijuana users should be barred from owning firearms is heating up—and the Supreme Court may soon take center stage. Trump-appointed Solicitor General D. John Sauer has requested a 30-day extension to decide whether to challenge a February ruling that questioned the constitutionality of the federal firearms ban for cannabis consumers.

The case involves Keshon Daveon Baxter, who was found with a firearm and a bag of marijuana and charged under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), a law that prohibits gun ownership by “unlawful” drug users. Baxter argued that the ban was both vague and unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. While an appeals court upheld the dismissal of the vagueness claim, it reversed the lower court’s ruling on the Second Amendment challenge, sending the case back to the district court for further review.

Solicitor General Sauer’s extension request signals that the government is carefully reassessing its stance, especially in light of President Trump’s recent “Protecting Second Amendment Rights” Executive Order, which has pushed for stronger gun rights protections. Second Amendment advocacy groups like the Firearms Policy Coalition welcomed the news, hoping the government might eventually abandon its defense of the outdated ban.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, it could dramatically reshape the future of gun rights for medical marijuana and recreational cannabis users. However, there’s risk involved: a ruling against the government could firmly establish that marijuana users cannot be categorically barred from owning guns.

Recent court rulings have increasingly cast doubt on the legality of the ban. Federal judges in Rhode Island, Texas, and elsewhere have ruled that simply belonging to a group—like marijuana users—does not automatically make someone too dangerous to exercise Second Amendment rights. They argue that the government has failed to prove a historical basis for such a sweeping restriction.

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Biden has maintained that marijuana users pose a public safety risk, citing concerns over storage practices, suicide risk, and drug-related crime. However, shifting political tides—including bipartisan support for marijuana reform—are putting pressure on federal authorities to rethink this position.

States like Pennsylvania and Kentucky have already started pushing for legislation that would protect gun rights for medical marijuana patients. Other efforts, such as a proposed ballot measure in Colorado, sought to safeguard cannabis users' Second Amendment rights but ultimately fell short.

The federal government’s current position continues to leave many medical marijuana patients in legal limbo—caught between state-legal cannabis use and federal firearm restrictions. Until the Supreme Court makes a definitive ruling or Congress takes action, uncertainty around marijuana and gun ownership rights is likely to persist.

As the May 6 deadline approaches—and with a possible extension now pending—the cannabis community, gun rights advocates, and legal experts alike are closely watching what could be a landmark moment in Second Amendment and cannabis law history.