Legal US Weed is Not Legal for Foreign Tourists or Residents

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Anchor Moy
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Legal US Weed is Not Legal for Foreign Tourists or Residents

Post by Anchor Moy »

This was news to me. In legalised states, US citizens can smoke, but it's a totally different story if you smoke or buy weed with your US friends while staying in the US on a visa or a green card. Foreigners are being deported for smoking "legal" weed.
I always thought that all legal residents in the US have the same right to the pursuit of happiness as the locals. How can there be one law for citizens and another for legal residents ? The marijuana shops can legally sell weed to foreign residents, but it is illegal for them to purchase it, and they can be arrested and deported just for smoking.
I realise that this is a federal versus state legal question, but at the very least, foreign residents and tourists need to be informed of this special (anti)law for foreigners. :evil:

Britons who legally smoke cannabis in the US 'risk being deported'
Warning comes amid rise in expulsions under federal law – even in states where drug is legal
Henry McDonald

Fri 15 Nov 2019 13.53 GMT
Last modified on Fri 15 Nov 2019 18.20 GMT

A legal expert at an international immigration firm has warned British tourists and employees that if they smoke marijuana in the US, even in states where it has been legalised, they risk being barred from the country for life.

UK visitors can still be arrested and deported from the US even if they consume cannabis in states such as California and Colorado, where the drug is legal, said Charlotte Slocombe, a senior partner at Fragomen in London.

Slocombe says her firm and others that deal with US immigration laws have seen a rise in cases where British holidaymakers and green card holders, working legally in the US, are being expelled or denied entry because of cannabis consumption in states where it is legal.

She said in a scenario where Americans were caught by police smoking cannabis at a party, in a state where it was legal, they could not be arrested. British people and other foreign tourists at the same party, however, could be arrested, deported and branded unfit to re-enter the US.

The warning comes as a growing number of US states are expected to legalise cannabis, among them New York and New Jersey, which will follow 11 states, including Washington DC, that have made the drug legal. Despite that change, under US federal law the drug remains illegal – meaning that foreign visitors can be sanctioned.

“Canada legalised cannabis in 2018 but as the US customs and Border Protection keep saying, US federal law has not changed,” said Slocombe. “What is confusing to people is that while states in the USA have legalised cannabis it remains illegal federally.

“Even if you are a foreigner in a state where it’s legal, it’s still illegal for you federally. If, for example, you buy cannabis from a legal dispensary and that dispensary asks for your passport details as ID that information might be discoverable. It could then trigger, as can admission of drug taking, immigration issues because immigration is covered by federal law not state law.

“This is how people get caught out even though they think they are doing something which is now legal in that state. Equally that would include green card holders and those who hold visas to live and work in the US. Even for an American it is federally illegal, but because they are not subject to US federal immigration laws they would not be as vulnerable.”

Slocombe said federal law trumped state law, and as a foreigner this could trigger inadmissability under US immigration legislation.
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“Don’t take any risks, while you are not breaking state law you are still breaching federal law. It’s too dangerous because the consequences are enormous and you might be ineligible for ESTA entry and a visa forever,” she said.

Slocombe warned it was not just cannabis consumers who ran the risk of being deported and potentially permanently barred from the US. Investors, shareholders or firms that supply equipment for legal cannabis producers in also run the same risk.

“There is one example I am aware of where two known investors in the US cannabis industry, who are foreigners and on visas, had their investment deemed illegal in federal law. Another example is a farmer who was on a visa and sold a portion of his land to a cannabis producer and filed US tax returns. That came up as an issue when he tried to apply to renew his visa.”

She said Fragomen had even advised non-US technology companies to be careful over supplying IT services to American cannabis companies.

“Customs and Border Protection state that they have the right to question you about your travel to the US and the industry you are in. So if you are going to do something related to the cannabis industry then yes you could find yourself inadmissible to enter the US.”
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phuketrichard
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Re: Legal US Weed is Not Legal for Foreign Tourists or Residents

Post by phuketrichard »

Thanks, interesting ;
luckily for me i have residence in a state its legal ( Ca)

this is the kicker,
“Even if you are a foreigner in a state where it’s legal, it’s still illegal for you federally. If, for example, you buy cannabis from a legal dispensary and that dispensary asks for your passport details as ID that information might be discoverable. It could then trigger, as can admission of drug taking, immigration issues because immigration is covered by federal law not state law."
I looked up what my rights are for ca>>

"By Doug Mentes, Esq. on May 28, 2019
Updated on October 8, 2019
As of January 2018, it’s legal to smoke marijuana in the state of California. This is good news for the many residents and potential tourists to the state. However, there are still many laws in place that restrict the use of cannabis in California. Residents and tourists must understand these laws or they put themselves at risk of not only a bad trip, but arrest.
https://www.superlawyers.com/california ... 552dc.html
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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Re: Legal US Weed is Not Legal for Foreign Tourists or Residents

Post by jovial fucher »

The US is not the only country that does this. Amsterdam, and soon Thailand, are/will be doing the same.

Supposedly, it is so that the US does not become a drug destination, but the reality of getting caught is slim in most places. You fire up in California, not a problem. In Texas, you'll be fried to a crackly crunch.

The last .oz I bought 10 years ago was from CL in SF. I met the guy in a park for the exchange. 275usd
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phuketrichard
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Re: Legal US Weed is Not Legal for Foreign Tourists or Residents

Post by phuketrichard »

jovial fucher wrote: Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:45 pm The US is not the only country that does this. Amsterdam, and soon Thailand, are/will be doing the same.

Supposedly, it is so that the US does not become a drug destination, but the reality of getting caught is slim in most places. You fire up in California, not a problem. In Texas, you'll be fried to a crackly crunch.

The last .oz I bought 10 years ago was from CL in SF. I met the guy in a park for the exchange. 275usd
Visited my daughter last year, she lives in Gridley about 2 hours north of sf, as they are not allowed to have a dispensary there, we meet the guy in a parking lot, 2 oz of PRIMO bud $80!!!
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
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