A federal court has given a man another chance to challenge his conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm due to his marijuana use, ruling that cannabis use in and of itself doesn’t mean he posed a credible threat to the physical safety of others while armed, as required under federal law.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa failed to make the required findings when it convicted Aldo Ali Cordova Perez Jr. The appellate court said the lower court did not “explicitly find” that Perez’s marijuana use caused him to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of others while armed, as required under federal law. The court said that Perez Jr. being a cannabis consumer wasn’t enough evidence without other factors.
Perez had been convicted under a statute that prohibits firearm possession by anyone who “is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance,” including marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law despite its legalization for medical or recreational use in many states.
The decision does not overturn the conviction but instead remands the case back to the district court for further proceedings. The lower court will now have to determine whether Perez’s marijuana use was linked to any actual risk to public safety.
The case adds to the growing legal debate over federal firearms restrictions tied to marijuana use, especially as courts reevaluate these laws in light of changing state marijuana policies and recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings on gun rights.
Sponsored
