The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has once again ruled that prosecuting individuals for gun possession based solely on marijuana use violates the Second Amendment.
This decision, issued by a three-judge panel, reverses the conviction of Patrick Darnell Daniels Jr., a Mississippi resident sentenced to nearly four years in prison under 18 USC 922(g)(3), a law that prohibits firearm possession by users of controlled substances. In August, the court ruled that a Texas resident cannot be prosecuted under a federal law that prohibits drug users from owning firearms, stating that the law is unconstitutional when applied to individuals with past drug use.
When it comes to Daniels, he was arrested in Hancock County, Mississippi, during a routine traffic stop in April 2022. Officers found firearms in his vehicle along with the remnants of marijuana joints. He was convicted of illegal gun possession and subsequently lost his Second Amendment rights permanently. However, the 5th Circuit overturned his conviction in 2023, ruling that the federal statute did not align with the Supreme Court’s test for gun regulations, established in the 2022 case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.
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