The U.S. Supreme Court has granted a request from the federal government to extend its deadline to appeal a key ruling that challenges the constitutionality of a law barring cannabis users from owning firearms.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued the order last week, approving Solicitor General D. John Sauer’s request to move the decision deadline to June 5. The government had been facing a May 6 deadline to respond to a February ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case U.S. v. Baxter.
The case involves Keshon Daveon Baxter, who was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) after being found in possession of both a firearm and marijuana. While a district court upheld the statute, an appeals court partially reversed the decision, finding that more facts were needed to evaluate Baxter’s Second Amendment challenge.
Sauer, recently appointed solicitor general, said more time was necessary for internal consultation. “The Solicitor General has not yet determined whether to file a petition for a writ of certiorari,” his office wrote in its filing.
The ruling is one of several recent federal decisions casting doubt on § 922(g)(3), the statute that bars “unlawful” drug users from owning firearms. Critics argue that the law lacks historical precedent and unfairly strips otherwise law-abiding citizens of constitutional rights.
Gun rights groups, including the Firearms Policy Coalition, have welcomed the extension as a sign the government might reconsider its stance. “We are encouraged that the solicitor general is reassessing this law in light of historical context and recent court rulings,” the group said.
Should the Supreme Court eventually take up the case, it could deliver a landmark decision shaping the intersection of drug policy and gun rights—especially as marijuana legalization spreads across U.S. states.
For now, the legal and political implications remain uncertain, but the high court’s decision in June could open the door to a broader reassessment of federal firearms restrictions on cannabis users.
Read the whole article from MarijuanaMoment here.
