Trump DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Weed Gun Ban, Court Rules for UT Psilocybin Church, More... (8/13/25)

Marijuana Policy

Mexico City allows public pot-smoking sites, and now it's relocating some of them; the North Carolina Supreme Court ponders marijuana odor and probable cause for searches, and more.

The US Supreme Court. Will it take us the issue of marijuana and gun bans? (Creative Commons)

Trump DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Ban on Marijuana Users Owning Guns. The Trump Department of Justice (DOJ) is urging the Supreme Court to take up one of several cases around the federal government's ban on firearms possession for users of marijuana and other illicit drugs and use it to uphold that prohibition.

Last week, DOJ requested that the high court review one case in particular out of five that have been differently decided by lower federal courts. That case "presents an important Second Amendment issue that affects hundreds of prosecutions every year: whether the government may disarm individuals who habitually use unlawful drugs but are not necessarily under the influence while possessing a firearm," wrote Solicitor General D. John Sauer.

Sauer argued that even though some recent appeals court decisions have called into question the ban on firearms possession for marijuana users, the ban is indeed constitutional. The solicitor general reiterated his position that, despite recent appeals court decisions calling into question the constitutionality of the firearms ban for people who use cannabis -- even in compliance with state law -- the restriction is nevertheless lawful.

Still, as DOJ conceded in its memo last week, appeals and district court opinions on the subject have differed and "the question presented is the subject of a multi-sided and growing circuit conflict."

The nine Supreme Court justices will meet next month to decide whether to take up any of the gun and marijuana cases.

Psychedelics

Utah Psilocybin Church Wins Injunction Barring Criminal Prosecution of Founder. A nonprofit religious entity that uses psychedelic mushrooms as part of its practice has won a temporary injunction barring any further steps in the state criminal prosecution of its founder, Lee Jensen, who was arrested for his psilocybin use and possession.

The group sued the city of Provo and Utah County in December claiming that the criminal prosecution violated its rights under the US Constitution, the state constitution, and a 2024 state law, the Utah Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Last week, US District Court Judge Jill Parrish granted the request for a preliminary injunction, writing that the county's actions imposed "a substantial burden" on religious freedom.

"The irreparable injury to Plaintiffs is not merely theoretical," Parrish wrote. "Based on the record in this case, the court notes once again its finding that the prosecution was brought in bad faith as part of a larger effort to harass Plaintiffs for their entheogenic religious practices and in hopes of giving the government a second opportunity to litigate the free-exercise issues presented squarely in this case."

"The prosecution has already caused Singularism to lose many of its practitioners and affiliates, and forcing Plaintiffs to wait until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings to secure their free-exercise rights would be the equivalent of issuing a death warrant for their nascent religion," the judge continued. "For these reasons, the court grants Plaintiffs' motion for an anti-suit injunction pending final judgment in this court enjoining further proceedings in the state criminal case against Mr. Jensen insofar as that case prosecutes him for violating the Utah Controlled Substances Act's prohibitions on psilocybin."

As well as state and federal constitutional protections, the state's Religious Freedom Restoration Act specifically "prohibits a government entity from substantially burdening a person's free exercise of religion, unless the burden is essential to furthering a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest."

Jensen welcomed the court win on Monday, though the final judgment on the case remains pending.

"The judge has recognized this for what it is. It's retaliatory charges that came in bad faith," Jen said after the ruling. "When you protect the religious freedoms of one religion, you protect the freedoms of all of them."

Search and Seizure

North Carolina Supreme Court to Hear Case on When Marijuana Odor Can Allow Vehicle Searches. The state Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments September 9 in a case that that could clarify whether the odor of marijuana -- or in this case, marijuana and cologne -- provides probable cause for police to search without a warrant. The appellant in State v. Dobson argues that because hemp is legal in the state and the odors of legal hemp and illegal marijuana are indistinguishable, the odor of marijuana does not provide probable cause for a search.

Greensboro police pulled Tyron Lamont Dobson over in a 2021 traffic stop and reported smelling odor of marijuana and cologne. They used the odor to find probable cause to search the car, and subsequently found drugs in the car and a gun on Dobson. Dobson eventually pleaded guilty to a gun crime, but his attorney wants that conviction thrown out, arguing that the evidence is the fruit of an unlawful search and must be suppressed.

That argument has been a hard-sell in Tarheel courts, though. Neither the trial court nor the state Court of Appeals bought it.

"(C)ontrary to Defendant's arguments, the legalization of industrial hemp did not eliminate the significance of detecting 'the odor of marijuana' for the purposes of a motion to suppress," Judge Valerie Zachary wrote in April 2024 for a unanimous appellate panel. "The legalization of industrial hemp 'has not changed the State's burden of proof to overcome a motion to suppress.'"

The appeals court also rejected Dobson's argument that police use of the presence of both marijuana and cologne odors created a new "double odor" rule to justify searches, calling cologne a "cover scent." But Dobson's attorney, Benjamin Kull, is calling on the state Supreme Court to reverse that ruling.

"Did the Court of Appeals fail to conduct the requisite 'totality of the circumstances' analysis and instead evaluate the existence of probable cause by applying an unconstitutional new 'double odor' rule?" Kull asked in a July 2024 petition. That is no more than a "formulaic box-checking exercise that only asks whether the two smells are present," he added.

International

Mexico City Moves Three "Cannabis Tolerance Zones" in Preparation for 2026 FIFA World Cup. Although the Mexican congress never got its bill legalizing marijuana commerce passed under former President Lopez Obrador, marijuana possession (up to 28 grams) has been legal since a 2021 Supreme Court decision. After pro-marijuana activists organized public pot consumption spaces the following year, Mexico City municipal authorities went along, allowing scenes to develop in several plazas in the central city.

Now, they want to relocate some of them as the city prepares for the premier event in global soccer, next year's FIFA World Cup. That has some pro-marijuana activists concerned and some NIMBY neighbors at the new sites upset.

Acting on orders from Mayor Clara Brugada, authorities cleared out public consumption scenes at the Plaza de la Informacion outside the Hidalgo Metro station, the Estela de Luz monument at the entrance to Chapultepec Park, and outside of the Museum of Memory and Tolerance in the city center. City officials cited complaints about crime, violence, and on-site marijuana sales.

The city is replacing them with officially-sanctioned "420 Zones" in Plaza de la Concepcion in the Historic Center, the Simon Bolivar Monument on Paseo de la Reforma, and the Jose Saramago Reading Hall next to Chapultepec Park.

And there are rules: Marijuana can be consumed only between 8:00am and 8:00pm, no more than the legal amount for personal use (28 grams) is permitted, the use of alcohol or other drugs is barred, buying and selling marijuana is a no-no, and users can only stay 40 minutes per visit. Municipal staff and police will monitor the locations to enforce the rules.

Some neighbors are grumbling, but the city is moving forward with the relocations. City officials said the rules and the strict oversight are subject to modification as the city evaluates the results.