Americans love their firearms, and I do mean love. The Pew Research Center estimates about one third of Americans – 107 million – personally own a firearm, and four in 10 live in a household with a firearm. Over 70% say they do so for protection, while about a third say it’s for hunting or target practice.
Americans also love their cannabis, with Pew Research estimating about 23% of adults in America — 60 to 65 million — used cannabis at some point in 2025. That number has been rising over the past decade, as legalization has gained traction and over 50% of Americans now live in states that have Adult Use cannabis programs.
Those two groups intersect, but gun ownership and cannabis consumption do not, at least according to Federal law. In mid June, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling which will lead to changes. But for now, legal gun ownership means not using cannabis, or doing what many do, and lie about it.
The subject of guns are a — sorry — loaded topic, and I’m not going to get into questions regarding if there are too many guns (there are), if there are not enough regulations and restrictions on ownership (there are not), and if said ownership plays a role in our our world record level gun violence and mass shootings (duh.) And no, you should not get high and go shooting, same as if you were drinking alcohol. We’re limiting this to what we hope are responsible cannabis users legally purchasing and owning a firearm.
In Oregon, there are no state laws prohibiting an adult who uses cannabis, medically or recreationally, from owning a firearm. But the Feds feel differently, seeing as how Cannabis is still a Schedule I drug for all Recreational users. (Schedule III currently only applies to the Medical side of things, and a few very FDA-approved products.)
Things get thorny when you purchase a firearm, as you are required to complete Form 4473 for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
As Romano Law explains, “…On that form, the purchaser of a firearm is required to answer the question, ‘Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?’ Anyone using cannabis for any reason (medical or recreational) would have to answer this question, ‘Yes,’ because marijuana use is not allowed for any reason under Federal law. Therefore, an OMMP cardholder attempting to purchase a firearm would almost certainly be denied in their attempt to purchase a firearm.”
The American Civil Liberties Union was one of the groups that represented Ali Hemani, a Texas man (aka Florida Man lite) who was charged in 2023 under the Federal Gun Control Act, which the ACLU explains, “makes it a felony for someone who is an “unlawful user of” or “addicted to” a controlled substance to possess a firearm. Hemani was charged under this statute as an “unlawful user” based on his use of marijuana and the fact that he owned a firearm that was safely secured in his home.”
The Supreme Court said, “yeah, nah,” in a unanimous 9 to 0 decision that determined the law is unconstitutional.
As NPR wrote: “…Justice Neil Gorsuch stressed that the ruling was extremely limited, in part because marijuana use has become so ubiquitous, widely accepted and is now legal to one degree or another in 40 states..” and added “..the only thing before the court is the government’s “ambitious theory” that could “automatically strip Mr. Hemani of his Second Amendment right to own a gun because he uses marijuana a few times a week.”
The lying about cannabis use when buying a gun can now cease and desist, as some of my biggest stoner friends are also (now) legal gun owners. Some work in the regulated cannabis industry, which is prohibited from banking, making it an all cash industry, which is really attractive to criminals with — that’s right — guns. All these aforementioned friends had to lie in order to obtain equal footing.
No matter your feelings on the 2nd Amendment, we can all agree cannabis use should not turn legal gun owners into felons.
Joshua Jardine has written Smoke Signals for nearly 8 years, works as Oregon’s Cannabis Concierge and has most likely gotten your favorite band high.
This article appears in the Source July 2, 2026.
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