8th Circuit Remands ‘As Applied’ 2A Drug/Gun Case – Update for February 12, 2026

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DOPER WITH GUN GETS A 2^ND AMENDMENT RE-DO, 8^TH SAYS

Alexander Wesley Ledvina was caught high on marijuana with a gun in his car. He admitted he had previously bought guns at the same time he was using weed and coke, but on the ATF forms he had filled out, Alex had denied being a drug abuser.

Alex was convicted of violating 18 USC § 1001 by lying on a government form and violating 18 USC § 922g)(3) by being a drug user in possession of a gun. He appealed, arguing that § 922(g)(3) was unconstitutionally vague as applied to him by not defining the term “unlawful user” of drugs, and the statute that it violated the 2^nd Amendment both facially and as applied to him.

Last week, the 8^th Circuit gave Alex half a loaf. While § 922(g)(3) as applied to Alex was not unconstitutionally vague, Alex’s challenge that § 922(g)(3) as applied to him violated the 2^nd Amendment required a remand to the district court.

In United States v. Cooper, the 8^th previously identified “at least two situations when § 922(g)(3) is consistent with the 2nd Amendment” – when drug use (1) made a defendant act like someone who is both mentally ill and dangerous, or (2) would cause a defendant to induce terror, or pose a credible threat to the physical safety of others with a firearm. “Without more,” the 8^th held, “drug use generally or marijuana use specifically does not automatically extinguish a person’s 2nd Amendment right.”

The Circuit remanded Alex’s case for the district judge to consider the Cooper factors as they might apply to our weed-smoking defendant.

United States v. Ledvina, Case No. 24-2441, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 3743 (8th Cir. Feb 6, 2026)

United States v. Cooper, 127 F.4th 1092 (8th Cir. 2025)

~ Thomas L. Root