US Supreme Court to Review Federal Law Barring Drug Users from Owning Firearms
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, October 20, 2025, agreed to review a federal law that bars illegal drug users from possessing firearms. The statute, a key provision of the Gun Control Act of 1968, was also used to charge Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, in 2023.
The decision follows a Justice Department appeal seeking to uphold the law after a lower court in Texas ruled that it violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
The case involves Ali Hemani, a dual U.S.-Pakistani citizen, who was charged with illegal gun possession after federal agents found a pistol, marijuana, and cocaine during a 2022 raid at his Denton County home. Hemani, described as a regular marijuana user, was not alleged to have been under the influence at the time of the discovery.
The outcome of the case could have major implications for how courts interpret the intersection of gun rights and drug use under U.S. law.
Hemani moved to dismiss the charge, citing the stringent test established by the Supreme Court in a 2022 decision, which requires that modern gun regulations must be “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the charge against Hemani in January, ruling that “there is no historical justification for disarming a sober citizen not presently under an impairing influence.”
Zachary Newland, a lawyer for Hemani, expressed disappointment that the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal but maintained hope that his client’s “important fundamental constitutional rights” would be vindicated in the end.
The statute at the center of the debate gained national attention in 2023 when Hunter Biden was charged with violating it. Prosecutors accused the former President’s son of lying about his narcotics use when purchasing a handgun in October 2018.
Hunter Biden was found guilty by a jury in June 2024, but his father, President Joe Biden, issued a presidential pardon in December 2024.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear the arguments and issue a ruling on the Hemani case by the end of June 2026.
