Updated 08/21/2025
Victory for Patients
It took nearly five years, a brilliant legal team, and a fundamental change at the U.S. Supreme Court to prevail in proving through a Superior Court Decision that the government has no cause to disarm law-abiding citizens who participate in a state-sanctioned medical marijuana program. Don’t go buy a gun yet, but stay tuned!
Read the Press Release from FLCAN here.
Read the full decision by the Court here.
🧑🌾 Who Was Involved
• Plaintiffs included three Florida Cannabis Action Network Members, Florida residents—Vera Cooper and Nicole Hansell—who were denied gun purchases due to their medical marijuana use, and Neill Franklin, a retired police officer who avoided joining the program to retain his gun rights.
• Former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried originally led the lawsuit in 2022. Her successor, Wilton Simpson, withdrew the state’s support. The case continued with just the FLCAN members.
⚖️ Legal Context
• The ruling challenges federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), which bars “unlawful users” of controlled substances from owning firearms—even if their use is legal under state law.
• The court applied the “history and tradition” test from the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, which requires modern gun laws to be consistent with historical precedent.
• The panel emphasized that medical marijuana users are not comparable to felons or dangerous individuals historically barred from gun ownership.
🧠 Key Quotes from the Ruling
“The Federal Government has failed, at the motion to dismiss stage, to establish that disarming Appellants is consistent with this Nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulation.” — Eleventh Circuit Panel
“Cooper’s and Hansell’s mental state is a far cry from that of addicts and alcoholics whose actions are controlled by their need to use.” — Court Opinion
🚨 What Happens Next
• The ruling doesn’t strike down the federal law entirely—it allows the plaintiffs to continue their challenge in court.
• The U.S. Department of Justice may appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
• The case adds momentum to other federal challenges, including one in Texas and another in Oklahoma, where courts have also questioned the constitutionality of disarming marijuana users.
Updated 09/2024
Florida Cannabis Action Network is actively challenging the prohibition of gun ownership by medical marijuana patients. The leadership team went into action in 2021 when Commissioner Fried invited the Cannabis Action Network to help find plaintiffs for a lawsuit in development by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Commissioner was insistent that she would use the power of her office to settle a grave concern held by Florida patients using medical marijuana. Can a person have both a Medical Marijuana Card and a gun?
This issue had plagued the organization. In 2019, we lost substantial funding because we would not publicly say that you absolutely could not have a gun and a medical marijuana card. Ironically, it was Commissioner Fried’s position that her office could issue a concealed carry permit that caused the disagreement with the donor. We added an FAQ about guns and Florida, but it wasn’t enough for the donor. You can find our FAQ’s by clicking this link.
The organization was hesitant at first to get involved with the lawsuit. We knew the Commissioner was running for Governor and were concerned about the suit lasting longer than the Commissioner’s term. Then FLCAN President Maria Hurley instructed the Executive Director, Jodi James, to form a working group to look at the chances for success and to liaise with the Commissioner’s office.
Florida Cannabis Action Network brought together two former plaintiffs in federal lawsuits, some great legal minds, and some PR folks, together we found some credible plaintiffs.
Outlets including NBC covered the press conference when we filed suit on April 20, 2022. Check out the coverage here.
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