DOJ Gun Rights Restoration Rule With Marijuana Exception Takes Effect Today

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A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) rule establishing a new process for restoring federal firearm rights took effect Monday, including provisions that specifically prevent marijuana use or addiction alone from triggering a drug-based presumption against granting relief.

The final rule, published in the Federal Register last month, lists September 21 as its effective date and says DOJ will begin soliciting applications from individuals starting today.

As The Marijuana Herald reported in August, the rule creates criteria for people prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law to ask the attorney general to restore those rights.

Several circumstances generally create a presumption that an application should be denied unless extraordinary circumstances are demonstrated. Current unlawful use of or addiction to controlled substances is among them, but DOJ expressly excludes people whose only unlawful drug use or addiction involves marijuana.

For purposes of the restoration program, DOJ’s definition of a controlled substance also specifically excludes marijuana.

The department said it adopted the marijuana exception following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Hemani. DOJ noted that the court found regular marijuana use did not necessarily establish that a person posed a danger to themselves or others. The department said public comments on the proposed rule similarly focused on whether marijuana use should be treated as evidence of dangerousness.

With the rule now in effect, DOJ is beginning a staged rollout of the new Federal Firearm Rights Restoration program.

According to the department’s program website, invited candidates will be able to submit applications beginning September 25. The process is scheduled to open to the first 5,000 members of the public on November 4. Another 500 people will be allowed to apply beginning January 4, 2027, when DOJ says a $30 application fee will also begin.

Applications will be handled through DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney rather than the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Applicants may include people prohibited from possessing firearms because of felony convictions, unlawful drug use, certain mental health statuses, domestic violence restrictions and other provisions of 18 U.S.C. 922(g).

The marijuana exception does not broadly legalize firearm possession by marijuana consumers or repeal the federal prohibition concerning unlawful users of controlled substances. Instead, it changes how marijuana use and addiction are treated when DOJ evaluates applications for restoration of federal firearm rights.

DOJ may still consider an applicant’s broader criminal history and other circumstances, and marijuana-related convictions can remain relevant under other portions of the rule. A grant of federal relief also does not automatically eliminate separate state or tribal firearm restrictions.