New York: The U.S. Federal Appeals Court has declared the prohibition on individuals using illegal drugs from carrying weapons as unconstitutional, stating that drug addicts cannot be prevented from carrying weapons.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled against federal law, citing the case of a person from Mississippi who was denied the right to carry a weapon.
According to foreign media, a person from Mississippi, Patrick Daniels, was sentenced when a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle were discovered in his vehicle, along with remnants of marijuana cigarette butts. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration did not conduct any drug tests on Patrick Daniels, as he had confessed to occasionally using Marijuana, which is prohibited under federal laws.
Patrick Daniels was sentenced to nearly 4 years in prison for this offense and had filed an appeal. The case was under review when in 2022, the Supreme Court for the first time stated that the Second Amendment individually guarantees the right to bear arms for self-defense.
Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s nominee for the Circuit Judge, Jerry Smith, stated regarding this matter that the federal law prohibiting possession of weapons on a public level does not apply to Daniels in any way.
Judge Jerry Smith briefly noted that while our history and traditions might impose some restrictions on individuals with ties to drug use, it is not evidence that if someone had used drugs in the past, they should also be prohibited from carrying weapons.
