Oklahoma judge rules banning guns for marijuana users is unconstitutional

An Oklahoma judge ruled this week that a federal law banning marijuana users from owning firearms in the United States is unconstitutional, opening the door for even more Americans to own guns.

Federal Judge Patrick Wyrick dismissed an indictment against Jared Michael Harrison on Friday, ruling that Harrison’s use of marijuana is not grounds for prohibiting him from owning a gun under his Second Amendment rights. Wyrick referred to last year’s Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun ownership rights in the United States as the basis for his decision.

Wyrick argued that simply being a cannabis user is not grounds for banning Harrison from owning a firearm because marijuana use, while still illegal outside of medical use, is not a violent or threatening offense. “The mere use of marijuana carries none of the characteristics that the Nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulation supports,” wrote the judge in his ruling, adding that the “mere status as a user of marijuana justifies stripping [Harrison] of his fundamental right to possess a firearm.”

The judge, appointed by former president Trump in 2017, said his ruling is consistent with the 2022 SCOTUS ruling, which ruled that prohibiting individuals from owning guns must be “consistent with a longstanding historical tradition in America of disarming presumptively risky persons, namely, felons, the mentally ill, and the intoxicated.” Harrison’s attorney, Laura Deskin, said the judge’s decision is “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.”