UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT

_______________________

No. 22-1569 _______________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

CAMERON CANNON, Appellant _______________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania District Court No. 2-21-cr-00033-001 District Judge: The Honorable Arthur J. Schwab __________________________

Submitted May 9, 2022

Before: KRAUSE, RESTREPO, and SMITH, Circuit Judges

(Filed: June 8, 2022)

Donovan J. Cocas Laura S. Irwin Office of United States Attorney 700 Grant Street Suite 4000 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Counsel for Appellee Jon Pushinsky Suite 1808 429 Fourth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Counsel for Appellant

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OPINION OF THE COURT __________________________

PER CURIAM

As a condition of his bond, a Magistrate Judge ordered that Cameron Cannon not violate any federal, state, or local law. That includes the use and possession of marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance. Nonetheless, Mr. Cannon continued to use marijuana for medical purposes on the recommendation of his physician, leading the District Court to revoke his bond. Cannon appeals that decision on the grounds that a different condition of his release permitted the use of controlled substances with a doctor’s prescription. Whether courts may excuse medical marijuana use in bond revocation hearings is an issue that has confused defendants and divided courts in the Third Circuit. But it is beyond dispute that the use and possession of marijuana—even where sanctioned by a State— remains a violation of federal law. So we will affirm the District Court’s revocation of Cannon’s bond and deny his motion for release.

I.

In 2019, Cameron Cannon was arrested and charged with drug- and firearms-related offenses in Pennsylvania. The state court released him on bond pending trial and he

2 remained in the community until February 2021, when federal prosecutors indicted him and moved for his detention pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3142. The parties agreed that because of the drug and firearms charges against Cannon, § 3142(e)’s presumption of detention pending trial applied but disagreed as to whether Cannon should be released on bond. A detention hearing was held in April 2021 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. The Magistrate Judge weighed the relevant factors and, because Cannon had thus far complied with the conditions of his state court bond during his release, the Magistrate Judge granted his request for pretrial release.

As part of that release, the Magistrate Judge imposed a number of conditions. Condition 1, which is required under the Bail Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3142(b), was that Cannon “must not violate federal, state, or local law while on release.” Gov. Ex. C at 1. The Magistrate Judge also imposed Condition 7(m), that Cannon “not use or unlawfully possess a narcotic drug or other controlled substances defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802, unless prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner.” Id. at 2.

With respect to these conditions, Cannon raised the issue of medical use of marijuana. As he explained, because he is a paraplegic and suffers from serious and painful medical conditions, his doctor had recommended medical mariju