Colorado Governor Breaks With Attorney General Over Guns and Marijuana

According to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, anyone who regularly uses marijuana should be prohibited from exercising their Second Amendment rights; a bold statement in a state where gun ownership is common and marijuana is available for both medical and recreational use. 

Weiser was one of 20 attorneys general (all of them Democrats except for Ohio AG Dave Yost) to side with the Trump administration in U.S. v. Hemani, filing an amicus brief that argues “legislatures may, consistent with the Second Amendment, protect the public by imposing restrictions on firearm possession and carriage by habitual drug users,” even when the drug of choice is lawful under state statute. 

In fact, the amicus brief doesn’t differentiate between “unlawful” drug use and the legal use of drugs; be it recreational marijuana, alcohol, or even prescription opioids. As far as these attorneys general are concerned, any “habitual drug users” should lose their Second Amendment rights. 

Indeed, the public can be endangered by habitual drug users who experience ongoing psychological deficits that cause them to make dangerous decisions while handling firearms, commit dangerous actions that put others at risk, and expose themselves to unsafe environments to obtain drugs. Given those dangers, a large majority of States have made a similar legislative choice as the federal government to regulate how habitual drug users may use firearms. These restrictions, like section922(g)(3), typically regulate habitual drug users by imposing a temporary restriction on their possession or carriage of firearms.

Under this position, someone who enjoys a glass of wine with dinner every night (or even three times a week) could be prohibited from possessing a gun because they’re “habitually” using drugs. Someone who goes on an occasional binge of cocaine and methamphetamine, on the other hand, would presumably still be able to exercise their 2A rights since their drug use isn’t habitual. 

Needless to say, I completely disagree with the position taken by these attorneys general in their amicus brief. Surprisingly, though Colorado Gov. Jared Polis does too. 

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

— Governor Jared Polis (@GovofCO) February 2, 2026

Oh, but gun control advocates do want to apply this same logic to substances like alcohol. 

While I do agree with Polis about marijuana users and their Second Amendment rights, I couldn’t help but point out the governor’s inconsistent position on the right to keep and bear arms. 

True. Also true that there’s no reason someone should be banned from purchasing a 30-round magazine, have to apply for a state-issued permission slip to purchase an AR-15, or wait days after passing a background check before getting their gun… all of which you support. https://t.co/R1bUSc8tba

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) February 2, 2026

And while Weiser put his name on an amicus brief arguing that 922(g)(3) should be upheld, Polis appears to be content with merely posting his opinion on X. If this was something that really frosted the governor’s cookies he could have submitted an amicus brief of his own, or even circulated a brief among governors to draw more support for his position that 922(g)(3) is unconstitutional, at least as it applies to marijuana users.

I suspect this is just one of the statements that Polis makes from time to time in order to keep up his image as a left-libertarian politician. His post is the first comment I’ve ever seen from him that indicates the Second Amendment protects a real right, and it’s pretty telling that it’s in the context of marijuana use and not, say, when it comes to purchasing and possessing commonly owned arms.  

Editor’s Note: Second Amendment groups across the country are doing everything they can to protect our 2A rights and right to self-defense.

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