What Hunter Biden's Verdict Means for Cannabis Users

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I wrote about Robert Hunter Biden’s indictment for violation of federal gun laws in a post entitled “What the Hunter Biden Indictment Means for Cannabis Users” back in September 2023. On June 11, 2024, a jury in a federal district court in Delaware found Hunter guilty of three felony counts. Today I want to look at how this could affect cannabis users.

Cannabis legalization and gun control laws

Below is a list of prior posts from our blog on the intersection between cannabis legalization and federal gun control laws, which give a lot of background to what this post discusses:

Without rehashing these prior posts, the main issue is that federal law prohibits ownership or possession of guns by persons who are addicted to or unlawfully use controlled substances. This includes cannabis, even in states where it is legal, and even if it is for purely medical purposes. In fact, the ATF’s required form to purchase a firearm states this clearly.

In 2022, the US Supreme Court rendered a decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which changed the tests courts use to determine whether laws infringe the Second Amendment.

Following Bruen, numerous federal court challenges have been lodged against the federal prohibition on gun possession or ownership by cannabis users. Many of these cannabis-related challenges have been successful. In fact, federal courts have already found different federal firearm restrictions unconstitutional, and the US Supreme Court is expected to rule on a similar challenge (not cannabis-related) this month.

In other words, it’s likely that in the next few years the US Supreme Court will consider an appeal regarding cannabis users’ gun rights. Based on my review of the current landscape of decisions, I believe the US Supreme Court would hold that cannabis users still have Second Amendment rights, but it would qualify that decision by allowing restrictions on possession by persons under the influence of cannabis.

The Hunter Biden matter

Now, how does this relate to Hunter Biden? Hunter’s case involved allegations that he was addicted to crack cocaine (not cannabis) when he purchased a firearm. Two of the charges related to false statements on governmental forms, and one related to possession of a gun in violation of federal law. As mentioned, the jury found him guilty on all three charges.

Once the Delaware court sentences Hunter, he is likely to challenge the above-mentioned federal laws on the grounds that they are unconstitutional under Bruen. While crack is obviously much different from cannabis, federal gun control laws treat all controlled substances the same. In other words, the law that Hunter was found guilty of violating would also apply to similarly situated cannabis users. Likewise, if the law is held to be unconstitutional with respect to drug users, it would likely apply equally to Hunter and cannabis users.

All that said, the difficulty for Hunter will be in the fact that he was charged for lying on a federal form. Even if the prohibition on gun ownership by drug users were held unconstitutional, there is still the problem that what he wrote on a federal form was not accurate. This is also an issue that some of the cannabis challengers could face as well.

What’s next for cannabis users and gun control laws

Ultimately, these federal challenges have a long way to go, and there is always the possibility that he is pardoned before an appeal is exhausted. That said, it’ll be interesting to watch folks from very different political persuasions linking up to challenge federal gun laws. As always, we’ll keep posting with more updates, so stay tuned to the blog.