There’s a Supreme Court case in progress that I’ve been watching closely, because it sits at the exact spot where my work lives: the intersection of federal gun law and what customers actually do on the weekend. I’m Lance Rankin, owner of Western Sport, an FFL in Roanoke, Texas. The question in front of the Court is blunt: can the federal government permanently take away your gun rights because you use marijuana, even occasionally, even in a state where it’s legal?
The case
The defendant is a Texas man whose home was searched by the FBI. Agents found a legally purchased Glock 9mm and some cannabis, and the government charged him under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), the statute that bars “unlawful users” of controlled substances from possessing firearms. Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance federally, so in the government’s view, state legalization is irrelevant. Use marijuana, lose the gun. Simple as that, they argue.
If you’ve ever bought a gun from me, you’ve met this statute already. It’s the marijuana question on ATF Form 4473, the one with the bold warning that state legality doesn’t matter. Answering it falsely is a federal felony. I’ve had to have that awkward conversation at the counter more times than you’d think.
How the argument went
Under the Bruen decision, a modern gun regulation has to line up with America’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. So the government reached for founding-era treatment of “habitual drunkards” as its historical anchor, and the justices didn’t seem to be buying it.
Justice Gorsuch pointed out that John Adams and James Madison drank regularly by modern standards, and pressed the government on what “habitual drunkard” even means and whether it could possibly stretch to occasional marijuana use. He asked directly whether one medically recommended gummy in Colorado could permanently disarm someone under the government’s theory, and noted that the government’s own flirtation with rescheduling marijuana cuts against treating it as grounds for lifetime disarmament.
Justice Barrett asked whether taking a spouse’s lawfully prescribed medication would make someone an “unlawful user,” and observed that a drug’s schedule doesn’t tell you whether a particular person is dangerous. Justice Jackson pushed for actual historical evidence that founding-era society disarmed substance users as inherently dangerous. By most accounts, the government struggled to give clean answers to any of it.
Why it matters
Hundreds of challenges to 922(g)(3) are pending in lower courts, all waiting on this ruling. A win for the defendant, even a narrow one, would force courts to apply real constitutional scrutiny to substance-based gun bans instead of rubber-stamping them. And with a growing number of states legalizing cannabis in some form, the collision between state law and federal gun law affects millions of otherwise law-abiding people who may not even realize they’re committing a federal crime.
My practical advice hasn’t changed and won’t until the law does: as of this writing, marijuana use and gun ownership do not legally mix under federal law, period, no matter what any state says. Don’t gamble your rights on a case that hasn’t been decided. A ruling is expected by late June, and the breadth of it will determine how much actually changes, so check the current status before acting on anything in this post. And for questions about your own situation, talk to an attorney who knows both federal and state firearms law. I’m a gunsmith, not a lawyer.
If you’re navigating a purchase and want the process explained straight, my guides on buying a gun in Texas and how FFL transfers work cover the ground, or call me at the shop at 817-393-4000. I’ll keep following this one, because the answer changes what happens at my counter every single day.
Lance Rankin is the owner and Chief Gunsmith of Western Sport, a family-run Type 07 FFL and Class 3/SOT dealer in Roanoke, Texas, serving shooters since 2007. Born and raised in Texas with over 50 years of experience handling firearms, Lance purchased Western Sport in 2017 and turned his lifelong passion into his profession. He specializes in AR-15 and AR-10 platform rifles, manufactures Western Sport’s own AR-15 line under the Rankin Industries brand, and runs the shop’s in-house Cerakote coating operation. When he’s not behind the counter or the workbench, you’ll find him on his ranch deep into the night, hunting coyotes with an AR-15 and thermal optics. Lance holds an MBA and personally shoots and tests the products Western Sport sells.
