Ban on marijuana users owning guns is unconstitutional, U.S. judge rules

U.S. District Judge Patrick Wyrick, an appointee of former Republican President Donald Trump in Oklahoma City, on Friday dismissed an indictment against a man charged in August with violating that ban, saying it infringed his right to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment.

"The mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation's history and tradition of firearms regulation supports," Wyrick wrote.

Laura Deskin, a public defender representing Harrison, said the ruling was a "step in the right direction for a large number of Americans who deserve the right to bear arms and protect their homes just like any other American." She called marijuana the most commonly used drug illegal at the federal level.

The U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to request for comment but is likely to appeal.

The decision marked the latest instance of a court declaring a gun regulation unconstitutional after the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority in June ruled that the Second Amendment protects a person's right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense.

That ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, announced a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation."

On Thursday, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals cited that decision in declaring unconstitutional a federal law barring people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms.