Yes. Under California law, a person who is addicted to the use of any narcotic drug commits a felony by owning, purchasing, receiving, or possessing a firearm, even with no drug conviction at all. The prosecution has to prove actual addiction, which is a higher bar than drug use.

The rule: addiction itself is the trigger, not a conviction

Penal Code section 29800(a)(1) makes owning or possessing a firearm a felony for several groups of people. Most are defined by a conviction: a felony conviction, or a conviction for certain violent firearm offenses listed in Penal Code section 23515. But the same paragraph also reaches anyone who “is addicted to the use of any narcotic drug” and owns, purchases, receives, or possesses a firearm. No drug charge or drug conviction has to come first. Addiction is simply one of the facts the prosecution proves in the firearm case.

What the prosecution actually has to prove

Under CALCRIM No. 2513, the prosecution must prove three things: that you owned, purchased, received, or possessed a firearm; that you knew you did; and that, at that time, you were addicted to the use of a narcotic drug. The instruction defines addiction narrowly, requiring all three of the following:

  • Emotional dependence: a compulsive need to keep using the drug.
  • Tolerance: needing larger and more potent doses.
  • Physical dependence: suffering withdrawal symptoms if deprived of the drug.

Because all three are required, occasional or past use does not meet this definition, and neither does regular use without tolerance and withdrawal. That limit applies to this California rule only; federal law, discussed below, reaches drug users as well.

Why this differs from a firearm ban based on a conviction

California separately bans firearms after certain misdemeanor convictions. Penal Code section 29805 lists them, including battery, assault, and criminal threats, and the ban usually lasts 10 years after the conviction. That list includes no drug offense, so a misdemeanor drug conviction does not trigger a ban under section 29805. A felony drug conviction is different, because a felony conviction generally triggers section 29800(a)(1). Apart from a felony conviction, the California rule that reaches drug use itself is the addiction clause, which requires no conviction at all.

Federal law is broader

Federal law has its own ban. 18 U.S.C. section 922(g)(3) makes it unlawful for anyone “who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” to possess or receive a firearm or ammunition, using the federal definition of a controlled substance. That reaches users, not only people who are addicted.

In United States v. Hemani (decided June 18, 2026), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the government had not shown that prosecuting one man under the unlawful-user part of that law, for keeping a gun in his home while using marijuana about every other day, complied with the Second Amendment. The Court called the case narrow and said it did not address efforts to ban addicts or people who are presently intoxicated from possessing a firearm. The decision did not resolve every application of the federal rule, so get advice on your own facts before relying on it.

Two narrow defenses the law recognizes

CALCRIM No. 2513 also recognizes two defenses, which the defendant must prove are more likely true than not:

  • Momentary possession: you held the firearm only briefly, solely to abandon, dispose of, or destroy it, and did not intend to keep it from law enforcement.
  • Justified possession: you found the firearm, or took it from someone committing a crime against you, and possessed it no longer than necessary to deliver it to law enforcement, giving advance notice if you were transporting it there.

Neither defense is automatic. Both depend on the specific facts and require the defendant to prove them.

If this applies to you

Both key elements are fact-specific: whether the evidence shows compulsive need, tolerance, and withdrawal at the time, and whether you knowingly owned, possessed, or controlled the firearm. Attorneys at the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can look at how the prosecution intends to prove addiction in your case. Call (800) 755-5174 to go over what happened.