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The Trump administration, like the Biden administration before it, has been aggressively defending the federal law that criminalizes gun possession by people who consume marijuana—but it may soon reverse course, the top Justice Department official says.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director Robert Cekada on Wednesday announced a series of administrative steps to reduce burdens on firearms owners and businesses.
While those steps don’t directly alter 922(g)(3), the federal law barring people who use cannabis and other illegal drugs from owning or purchasing guns, a reporter asked Blanche at a briefing whether DOJ is “reconsidering” its stance of defending laws disarming marijuana consumers or those who have other nonviolent convictions from legal challenges under the Second Amendment.
“Yes, of course we are,” he said. “Every case is different. The facts leading up to where we are in a litigation is different, whether we’re at the district court level, whether we’re at the court of appeals.”
“It’s not rational, or it’s not possible for us to just unwind on a given Monday. We just recently got out of a case two weeks ago that had been pending for a long time,” Blanche said. “We’ve recently argued some cases in front of the Supreme Court. We’ve had some cases in the court of appeals, and this is something that we’re looking carefully at case by case to make sure that we are doing the right thing—consistent with the Constitution, consistent with the Second Amendment, consistent with this administration’s priorities.”
“And so yes, it’s not as smooth as a single day, but it’s also not as clunky as taking forever,” the attorney general said.
Last month, however, the Trump administration argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that the federal law barring cannabis consumers from owning guns is constitutional under the Second Amendment. And last week, Solicitor General D. John Sauer sent the justices a letter saying that the Trump administration’s move to federally reschedule marijuana should not impact their decision in that case.
DOJ and ATF have not yet released the full text of the 34 new notices of final and proposed rulemaking they are issuing on gun policies, but one of them could potentially impact how the existing ban on gun purchases by people who consume marijuana is carried out, based on a brief description the agencies posted.
It says that “ATF is proposing comprehensive updates to ATF Form 4473 (the Firearms Transaction Record required for all commercial firearms transfers) and its implementing regulations.”
That form must be filled out by anyone purchasing a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer and currently contains a question that asks, “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?”
The form further warns that “he use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.”
“Shall not be infringed” means exactly that and under the bold leadership of @POTUS, this Department of Justice is taking unprecedented action to defend the Second Amendment rights of Americans. Today, we are announcing regulatory reforms to @ATFHQ gun rules, which protect public… pic.twitter.com/cevtr3dqQs
— Acting AG Todd Blanche (@DAGToddBlanche) April 29, 2026
ATF said on Wednesday that the forthcoming rule change will “incorporate ATF rulings and other guidance to align regulations with their authorizing statutory text as well as make minor technical revisions.”
“These updates reflect modern business practices and are intended to reduce administrative burden on law-abiding citizens and businesses, while maintaining robust safeguards against unlawful transfers,” the agency said.
The Second Amendment Foundation, a gun rights advocacy group, said in a social media post that “of particular interest to us will be the wording of the cannabis-related question” under the revised form, especially once the Supreme Court decides the case it is considering on marijuana consumers’ gun rights, U.S. vs. Hemani.
This is one where the devil will be in the details, but we’re all for simplifying forms. We look forward to reviewing the new proposed form.
Of particular interest to us will be the wording of the cannabis-related question, especially once Hemani is out (assuming it goes our… pic.twitter.com/GycDPA96Qq
— SAF (@2AFDN) April 29, 2026
Separately, ATF moved earlier this year to loosen rules that bar people who consume marijuana and other illegal drugs from being able to lawfully purchase and possess guns by making it so fewer people would be affected.
The interim final rule from ATF, which is currently open for public comment through June 30, seeks to update the definition of “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” under an existing policy that has been interpreted to deny Second Amendment rights to people who have used illegal substances a single time within the past year.
“ATF’s mission is to protect public safety and enforce the law—and these reforms reflect our commitment to doing that through regulations that are clear, legally sound, and narrowly tailored to that purpose,” Cekada said on Wednesday. “Our enforcement focus from here on out is on willful violators and criminal actors, not inadvertent compliance issues by responsible owners and licensees.”
Tom Angell is the editor of Marijuana Moment. A 25-year veteran in the cannabis and drug law reform movement, he covers the policy, politics, science and culture of marijuana, psychedelics and other substances. He previously reported for Forbes, Marijuana.com and MassRoots, and was given the Hunter S. Thompson Media Award by NORML and has been named Journalist of the Year by Americans for Safe Access. As an activist, Tom founded the nonprofit Marijuana Majority and handled media relations, campaigns and lobbying for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
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