Imagine one of Arizona’s county attorneys — maybe Shelia Polk in Yavapai County or Rachel Mitchell in Maricopa — filing a federal lawsuit to protect the right to own guns while legally using medical cannabis. Picture them standing in front of TV cameras, waving an Arizona medical marijuana card and quoting the Second Amendment. Arizona politics would explode overnight.
A showdown already erupted in Pennsylvania, where Warren County District Attorney Robert Greene teamed up with the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) to challenge the long-standing federal gun ban on marijuana users. In their case, Greene v. Garland, they argue that federal law tramples the constitutional rights of state-legal medical cannabis patients.
Greene, a law-abiding local prosecutor with a valid Pennsylvania medical marijuana card, sued the U.S. Attorney General, the heads of the ATF and FBI, and the entire federal government. The lawsuit zeroes in on 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3)— the statute that blocks anyone who “unlawfully uses” a controlled substance from owning or buying firearms. Under federal law, that includes people who legally use cannabis under their own state’s program.
Dismissed, But Far From Over
A federal judge dismissed Greene’s case on June 30, ruling that his complaint failed to state a claim under current Second Amendment standards. Greene and his co-plaintiffs didn’t convince the court that this law lacked historical support. They quickly filed an appeal, which now moves to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. That court could take the case up in late 2025 or early 2026. If Greene loses again, he and SAF likely will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the issue.
Greene’s lawsuit joins a long list of fights over this federal gun ban. Courts have heard challenges for more than a decade. In 2016, the Ninth Circuit upheld the law in Wilson v. Lynch, where a Nevada woman tried to buy a gun while holding a state-issued medical marijuana card. Earlier, the Fourth and Ninth Circuits rejected other claims from cannabis users who wanted to keep their firearms.
But new Second Amendment rulings under Bruen have changed the legal landscape. In 2023, the Fifth Circuit created shockwaves when it found the ban unconstitutional in United States v. Daniels, at least as applied to someone who only admitted occasional marijuana use without violence. That narrow victory didn’t involve holding a state medical card, but it cracked open a door. Meanwhile, cases like Fried v. Garland (from Florida) and Lara v. Pennsylvania State Policekeep pushing the boundaries.
Arizona: The State-Level Paradox
In Arizona, the situation remains uniquely tangled. State law and the Arizona Constitution fully protect the right to own firearms, even for medical marijuana cardholders. Arizona voters cemented medical cannabis rights in 2010 and adult-use in 2020. State agencies do not track firearms ownership by cannabis patients, and Arizona law enforcement cannot seize guns simply because someone uses cannabis.
But federal law still governs. Under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), any “unlawful user” of a controlled substance — which includes all marijuana users under federal law — cannot legally own or buy firearms. When Arizonans fill out the ATF Form 4473 at a gun shop, they face a serious dilemma. They must answer whether they use marijuana. Checking “no,” despite holding a state medical card or openly consuming cannabis, could trigger felony charges for lying on the form.
Federal prosecutors in Arizona rarely target simple marijuana users for gun ownership, but the risk sits on the books. A conviction carries up to ten years in prison. Even more, anyone flagged in the FBI’s NICS system could lose their right to buy guns in the future.
Waiting on the Courts—or Congress
People across the country keep pressing courts to fix this conflict. If the Third Circuit sides with Greene, it could split with other appellate courts and push the Supreme Court to finally step in. Congress also could solve the problem by legalizing or at least descheduling marijuana. The DEA recently proposed moving cannabis to Schedule III, which might soften penalties but wouldn’t automatically lift the gun ban.
So for now, Arizona’s more than 135,000 medical marijuana patients and countless adult-use consumers remain caught in the same legal limbo. State law protects their gun rights. Federal law still strips them away. Until either the courts or Congress act, cannabis users in Arizona who own firearms do so at their own legal peril