Canada Cannabis Investor Gets Life US Entry Ban as Others Face Border Scrutiny - Sensationalist Headlines

The individual, who invests in a Canadian cannabis business that has an operation in Nevada, received the ban on the morning of Nov. 14, as he travelled to Las Vegas to attend the Marijuana Business Conference & Expo, one of the largest gatherings of cannabis industry players. The conference attracted close to 25,000 investors, entrepreneurs, lenders, lobbyists and executives of major U.S. and Canadian licensed cannabis producers, among others. According to Saunders, who has a transcript of the exchange, a U.S. border guard at Vancouver International Airport’s pre-clearance area asked the individual if he understood that an investment in the U.S. cannabis industry was a “violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act related to controlled substance trafficking.” Cannabis is now federally legal in Canada, and legal for both recreational and medical use in 10 U.S. states, including Nevada, as well as Washington D.C., but remains illegal federally in the U.S. About a month before cannabis became fully legal in Canada, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (U.S. CBP) issued a statement saying that any individual working in the cannabis industry in Canada could be deemed inadmissible to the U.S. They later clarified that statement, confirming that any Canadian traveling to the U.S. for reasons unrelated to the marijuana industry, even though he or she works in the industry, would “generally be admissible.” Canadian cannabis investor gets lifetime U.S. entry ban as confe..

I get that the US is justified in doing this because pot is schedule 1 in the US, but it shouldn't be schedule 1 in the first place. As legalization approached, it was also said that US border guards wouldn't ask about cannabis use unless they had reasonable suspicion that the traveller was attempting to smuggle or something. What have guards been doing? Routinely asking anyone they feel like and issuing bans on the spot for admissions of past use. In BC, it's legal. In Washington State, it's legal. But I have to cross federal jurisdiction to get there and because it's illegal they are well within their rights to permanently ban me from ever entering the US again, on the spot, at their discretion. If I admitted to dealing crack I could understand but fuck this, the next stage in Trump America's war on cross-border trade.

I get the feeling that he'll still have the ban even after weed is federally legalized tbh

this is brought up in the article as well Saunders casts some of the blame on the Canadian government for perhaps not understanding the gravity of the border situation as it relates to cannabis. “Look, the Americans have already said that any foreigners involved with the cannabis industry can be denied entry and barred for life. Now you have the Canadian government advising people to tell the truth at the border. But I’m saying, it’s much better to say nothing — you will be denied entry, not given a lifetime ban. You don’t have to say anything at the border.” Saunders also points out that even if cannabis eventually becomes legal at a federal level in America, it won’t change anything for those who have already obtained a lifetime ban. “I would love to ask Ralph Goodale if he’s willing to hand out some free waivers that will help these people get back across the border. Because, trust me, this is going to continue being a big problem for Canadian business people.” oh sorry, you want to invest in our country and businesses? fuck right outta here bud!!

What a dope!

The conference attracted close to 25,000 investors, entrepreneurs, lenders, lobbyists and executives of major U.S. and Canadian licensed cannabis producers, among others. So, ehh, how did does other investors and/or producers go through? Great job on stopping those evil Canadian marijuana dealers.

Because border enforcement is completely arbitrary. If they don't like the look of you, you don't get in, for literally no other reason. It rolls on from there, some border guards aren't going to care, some are going to be hardcore anti-pot and see it as their duty to issue as many lifetime bans as they can to protect America from that most dangerous of terrorist, a Canadian who smoked pot in college 15 years ago.