United States v. Hemani · ¶49

The first has to do with § 922(g)(3)'s reliance on the CSA. The former does not define its own category of people to disarm. Instead, according to the government, it disarms anyone who regularly uses any drug found on any CSA schedule for something other than its “prescribed purpose.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 57. The CSA, in turn, was adopted to protect “the health and general welfare of the American people.” 21 U. S. C. § 801(2). Drugs can be added to its schedules for a variety of reasons having little or nothing to do with their potential to induce violence—reasons that include “[t]he state of current scientifc knowledge” about a substance, whether that substance “is an immediate precursor” to another controlled substance, and the risk to “public health.” § 811(c). Without question, some unlawful users of controlled substances can pose a risk of violence. But, by defning its scope through…

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