February 05, 2026 12:48 PM UTC

Polis v. Weiser on Gun Rights For Stoners

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• by: Colorado Pols

It’s an unusual and noteworthy disagreement between the Democratic governor and attorney general of our state on an issue about to come before the U.S. Supreme Court, with decent arguments on both sides and potential ramifications in the upcoming Democratic primary to select Colorado’s next governor. From the gun control group Colorado Ceasefire:

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has joined 18 other state AGs in fighting the repeal of a rule barring cannabis users (recreational and medicinal) from lawfully buying and owning firearms. The U.S. Supreme Court last year agreed to review the case after a lower court ruled that drug users shouldn’t automatically be banned from having guns.

The case is widely seen as another test of gun laws in the wake of the Bruen decision, a landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling that said firearm regulations must be consistent with the nation’s ‘historical tradition of gun regulation.’ The writ Weiser signed onto says that “Habitual drug use is associated with unique dangers when combined with firearms,” and that “the Second Amendment allows legislatures to confront shifting societal problems with new regulatory solutions.”

Whether or not one considers legal marijuana a ‘societal problem,’ the question of how much latitude states have in dictating who can and cannot possess firearms is a thorny one—and doesn’t always fall along predictable lines…

That assessment appears correct, as Colorado’s liberal-tarian Gov. Jared Polis has come out strongly against Attorney General Phil Weiser’s decision to join this lawsuit that could strip otherwise legal marijuana consumers in Colorado of their gun rights. Polis’ release on the subject this week:

Today, Colorado Governor Jared Polis called for federal action to support freedom and Coloradans’ rights to be responsible gun owners and responsible marijuana users at the same time. The U.S. v. Hemani case before the United States Supreme Court addresses a federal law prohibiting firearm possession for users of controlled substances, which still includes marijuana. For years, the Governor has called for the rescheduling of marijuana and he continues to urge the administration to stop dragging its feet and interfering with Coloradans’ Constitutional rights.

“There is no reason that someone should be banned from exercising their Second Amendment right simply because they use marijuana, especially when that logic is not being applied in the same way to other substances such as alcohol,” said Governor Jared Polis.

Colorado was the first state in the country to legalize marijuana through a vote of the people. Since taking office, Governor Polis has been outspoken in his support for the cannabis industry, including granting thousands of pardons to Coloradans with low-level marijuana possession convictions at the state level that would be legal today.

This morning, Gov. Polis responded to the conspicuous conflict between his office and AG Weiser:

Without taking a side on the policy question, we can definitely see how this could become relevant in the Democratic primary for governor, if Weiser’s opponent Sen. Michael Bennet chooses to make it a differentiating issue–we haven’t seen Bennet respond yet, and we honestly don’t know where he would land. Both candidates in this race have been looking for ways to distinguish themselves in the absence of major policy disagreements, and if there’s a divide between Bennet and Weiser on marijuana they could finally have something relevant to primary voters to fight over. Sen. Bennet has generally been a proponent of marijuana legalization in the Senate following Colorado’s lead, so we’ll be watching for him to weigh in.

We also would not be too quick to call this position a hindrance for Weiser, with the question intersecting between the personal freedom issue of gun ownership and the public safety considerations of drug use. As we ask in our unscientific polls, predict how a majority of voters will consider it, not necessarily your personal view of the issue.

And with that said, we’ll turn it over to readers to pass judgment.