CODEPOLA urges Police Bureau to restore gun rights after Supreme Court cannabis ruling
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
By THE STAR STAFF
The head of Puerto Rico’s main gun‑rights advocacy group is urging the Police Bureau to move quickly to comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limits the government’s ability to disarm people who use controlled substances, including licensed medical cannabis patients.
The Police Bureau has said it will not enforce the Supreme Court ruling.
Ariel Torres Meléndez, president of the Corporation for the Defense of the Holder of a Gun License of Puerto Rico (CODEPOLA in Spanish), said Tuesday that the Police Bureau’s posture following the June 18 unanimous decision has been “slow” and “misguided,” particularly in cases where firearms and gun licenses were seized from cannabis patients.
“The reality is that the Puerto Rico Police, nor any court in Puerto Rico, can go against the decision of the high court,” Torres Meléndez said. “Imposing obstacles and claiming they will now investigate, evaluate, or verify a citizen whose weapons and license were seized is an erroneous and unjust decision.”
He argued that the agency should promptly identify all affected gun owners and begin returning both their licenses and firearms. Torres Meléndez said he would allow the Police Bureau a brief period to prepare an administrative report but insisted that delays would be unacceptable.
The Supreme Court ruling—issued in United States v. Hemani—held that the federal government cannot automatically bar drug users from possessing firearms without demonstrating that the individual poses a danger. The case centered on Ali Danial Hemani, a Texas resident who challenged a federal statute prohibiting firearm possession by people who use illegal drugs.
Torres Meléndez noted that federal agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), will have to revise Form 4473, which previously asked prospective gun buyers whether they used substances such as cannabis. He said Puerto Rico’s Police Bureau must similarly update its procedures.
“Yes, we recognize that any new mandate requires legal analysis and regulatory changes,” he said. “But that does not mean it should take years. This is about doing justice for people who have a legal and constitutional right to defend their lives and who were deprived of that right without committing any crime.”
He also criticized House Bill 651, now before the Puerto Rico Senate, which would bar medical cannabis patients from obtaining gun licenses and authorize the Police Bureau to verify whether applicants hold active cannabis cards. Torres Meléndez called the measure “unconstitutional” and said he expects senators to reject it.
CODEPOLA recently opened its offices to assist any citizen affected by the Police Bureau’s revocation of gun licenses tied to cannabis use. Torres Meléndez said the organization warned the agency months ago to wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling, but “they did not listen.”
He raised concerns about how the Police Bureau identified cannabis patients in the first place, noting that medical information is protected under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). He questioned whether the agency accessed confidential data improperly.
“It is very concerning and important to know what mechanisms the Police used to identify people with cannabis licenses, verify whether they had gun licenses, and then revoke them,” he said. “Was it legal? Was it done behind the scenes? Were citizens’ rights violated?”
Torres Meléndez urged the Police Bureau to accelerate its administrative review and implement procedures that comply immediately with the Supreme Court’s decision, warning that further delays could expose the agency to legal scrutiny.