Draz
09-11-2016, 12:20 PM
Canada will press the US to alter a border policy that has barred Canadians who admit to having used marijuana from traveling to the US, given that Canada plans to legalize pot, a government spokesman told Reuters on Friday.
The case of a Canadian man barred from US travel because he admitted to having smoked pot recreationally has stirred debate over US border agents invoking a federal law against marijuana use, even though pot use is legal in several states and soon to be legal in Canada.
British Columbia resident Matthew Harvey was stopped at a US border crossing in Washington state in 2014 and asked about recreational marijuana use.
When Harvey, 37 at the time and who had a permit to use medical marijuana, said he had smoked pot recreationally, he was detained and questioned for six hours before being denied entry and barred from future entry.
"They said that I was inadmissible because I admitted to smoking marijuana after the age of 18 and before I'd received my medical marijuana licence," Harvey said, according to the CBC.
In an interview with the CBC, Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that the situation needed to be addressed, particularly in light of uneven marijuana restrictions in US states.
"We obviously need to intensify our discussions with our border authorities in the United States, including the Department of Homeland Security," Goodale said on Thursday.
"This does seem to be a ludicrous situation," he went on, noting that marijuana was legal in Washington state as well as "three or four other jurisdictions in the United States."
"[T]here's certain ironies about the current American position that we will certainly be very vociferous in putting before them," Goodale added.
Four US states - Washington, Colorado, Alaska, and Oregon - have legalized recreational marijuana use, as has the District of Colombia. Moreover, 25 states have legalized medical marijuana, at least five of which will decide on recreational-marijuana legalization in November elections.
Source (http://www.businessinsider.com/r-canada-to-press-us-on-ludicrous-marijuana-border-policy-2016-9?r=UK&IR=T)
The case of a Canadian man barred from US travel because he admitted to having smoked pot recreationally has stirred debate over US border agents invoking a federal law against marijuana use, even though pot use is legal in several states and soon to be legal in Canada.
British Columbia resident Matthew Harvey was stopped at a US border crossing in Washington state in 2014 and asked about recreational marijuana use.
When Harvey, 37 at the time and who had a permit to use medical marijuana, said he had smoked pot recreationally, he was detained and questioned for six hours before being denied entry and barred from future entry.
"They said that I was inadmissible because I admitted to smoking marijuana after the age of 18 and before I'd received my medical marijuana licence," Harvey said, according to the CBC.
In an interview with the CBC, Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said that the situation needed to be addressed, particularly in light of uneven marijuana restrictions in US states.
"We obviously need to intensify our discussions with our border authorities in the United States, including the Department of Homeland Security," Goodale said on Thursday.
"This does seem to be a ludicrous situation," he went on, noting that marijuana was legal in Washington state as well as "three or four other jurisdictions in the United States."
"[T]here's certain ironies about the current American position that we will certainly be very vociferous in putting before them," Goodale added.
Four US states - Washington, Colorado, Alaska, and Oregon - have legalized recreational marijuana use, as has the District of Colombia. Moreover, 25 states have legalized medical marijuana, at least five of which will decide on recreational-marijuana legalization in November elections.
Source (http://www.businessinsider.com/r-canada-to-press-us-on-ludicrous-marijuana-border-policy-2016-9?r=UK&IR=T)