Atlanta, GA – A federal appeals court has delivered a major win for medical marijuana patients and gun rights advocates, ruling that the federal government cannot automatically strip gun rights from Floridians who legally use cannabis for medical reasons.
The Ruling
On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government’s argument that medical marijuana patients should be treated like drug addicts or dangerous individuals. Writing for the panel, Judge Elizabeth Branch stated:
“When viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the allegations in the operative complaint do not lead to the inference that the plaintiffs are comparatively similar to either felons or dangerous individuals—the two historical analogues the Federal Government offers in its attempt to meet its burden”.
Branch emphasized that plaintiffs Vera Cooper and Nicole Hansell, who disclosed their medical marijuana use on federal gun purchase forms, “cannot fairly be labeled as dangerous people solely due to their medicinal marijuana use”.
The court concluded:
“Appellants cannot be considered relevantly similar to either felons or dangerous individuals based solely on their medical marijuana use. Accordingly, the Federal Government has failed, at the motion to dismiss stage, to establish that disarming Appellants is consistent with this Nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulation”.
The ruling vacated a lower court dismissal and sent the case back for further proceedings.
Case Background
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2022 by then-Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried alongside several patients. They challenged federal prohibitions that forbid marijuana users — even those following state medical programs — from purchasing or possessing firearms. Florida voters legalized medical marijuana through a constitutional amendment in 2016, though marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
While Fried left office in 2022 and her successor dropped out of the case, the patients pressed forward. The appeal was delayed while the U.S. Supreme Court weighed its United States v. Rahimi decision, which clarified how courts should review gun laws under the Second Amendment.
Competing Arguments
Lawyers for the Biden administration claimed that marijuana users “would endanger themselves or others” if allowed to have firearms, comparing them to addicts or mentally ill individuals historically disarmed. But Judge Branch rejected the analogy, writing:
“Viewing these allegations in the light most favorable to Cooper and Hansell, it appears they use rational thought in making their decision to use marijuana and would stop their marijuana use if they were placed at risk of criminal prosecution. Accordingly, Cooper’s and Hansell’s mental state is a far cry from that of addicts and alcoholics whose actions are controlled by their need to use alcohol or drugs”.
Reactions
Nikki Fried celebrated the ruling, calling it “a huge win for freedom. No medical cannabis patient should have to choose between their rights to their medicine or their right to bear arms.”
Daniel Russell, attorney for the plaintiffs, echoed that view, saying the decision was “an enormous step in the right direction toward normalization of Florida’s medical marijuana program” and reaffirmed that “purchasing doctor-recommended medical marijuana… should not deprive anyone of their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.”
What Comes Next
The decision aligns with a 2024 Fifth Circuit ruling that also struck down similar restrictions against a Texas gun owner who used marijuana. The Justice Department may still appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, but for now, Florida patients have won a key step in securing both their medical and constitutional rights.
